Shifting Impulse: A BBW Bear-Shifter Romance (Complete Edition - Books 1-3) Read online

  “Are you hurt?” he asked, his voice husky as if it hadn’t been used for a while.

  She shook her head. She couldn’t stop sobbing, though. She didn’t know why this was happening, but it was beyond her control. Again. What was it with that night and her lack of self-control?

  Nobody died. The steaming-hot-panty-melting guy came after you. Why are you still crying like you’ve lost your cat? her mind said.

  He crouched and, in what seemed like a second, he was sitting to her left. His right arm snaked on her back and reached her right arm. He gently pulled her whole upper side towards him and she didn’t resist. She couldn’t resist his touch. There was something so soothing about it. His other arm joined in and he formed a protective cage around her.

  Her body reacted as if he was speaking seductively rather than just holding her like a mother holds her distressed child. He took in and released a few deep breaths as if he was suffocating. What was he doing? Was he calming himself down? She wanted to say something but nothing came out of her dry throat. It must have been her imagination. A man as strong as the one holding her had more control over himself than she had. His scent reminded her of wet pine trees after the rain. Well, his scent combined with cigarette smoke. They both reeked of it.

  Anna realized what she was doing. She had to get up and leave. She knew he would allow it. She peeled his hands off her. He growled. She ignored him and used her right arm for support on the pavement, crossed her legs and pushed herself up. That hadn’t been such a great decision. Her head spun, her legs were too shaky to support these sudden movements and darkness engulfed her. The last thing she felt was falling deeper into the abyss. Was this the way she was going to die?

  CHAPTER TWO

  Reassuring warmth surrounded Anna. Her fuzzy brain didn’t help pinpoint her location. Maybe she was in her own bed. Her head spun, the reason for which it was happening still unknown to her. Maybe she hadn’t slept well last night. Yeah, that was it. It wasn’t anything unusual. It was nice and cozy, so she decided to keep her eyes shut for a few more minutes. She couldn’t have opened them anyway. They were glued there. She must have had a terrible night if her eyes refused to open. Maybe it was too early. The peace she felt was unexpected. Why was she peaceful when her head hurt so badly?

  Whatever… stop thinking and just enjoy it. Her mind whispered.

  Alright…

  She was on her right side, curled up in the fetus position, and her body felt heavy. She wiggled her toes and slowly started shaking and moving her whole body into the state of awareness she needed in order to fully wake up and get out of bed. While doing that, her body located the heat source coming from behind her. That’s when it dawned on her. Someone’s arm – wait… not arm, more like paw by the size of it- rested on her stomach, making her flesh almost tingle with the excitement of being touched, and that someone’s firm morning erection was poking her more than generous heart-shaped ass. She became aware of his warm, steady breath on the back of her neck. Chest hair tickled her back. Was she naked?

  She could feel the soft feel of her lace panties and bra, which told her she wasn’t completely naked.

  Why was she in her bed, spooning with a guy?

  Wait a second!

  Unless she wasn’t in her own room.

  Her eyes flung open with such speed that they hurt. After taking a few seconds to adapt to the light, the see-through sandy-brown curtains that came in view confirmed her fear. She was definitely not at home, but she had no clue as to where she was and why.

  A subtle scent caught the attention of her sensitive nose. The room smelt like wet pine trees after the rain. His masculine smell was there again to put her under his spell.

  Anna was embarrassed now. She was in bed with the hot stranger from the other night. What had happened? Had she agreed to sleep with him? Why couldn’t she remember what happened? She had to know. She had to talk to him. Clarify this whole misunderstanding. She wasn’t about to let everything go south just because of one night.

  She willed her body to move and get out of bed. It obeyed her command. Finally! As she managed to escape her prison the third time in probably less than twenty-four hours, he started to move in his sleep too, a sign he noticed she was gone and would wake up any second.

  Woken up by the void his arm was now clinging to, the guy’s eyes opened lazily and a sexy smirk covered his face. He lifted his head and his right eyebrow shot up in disbelief at the sight of the semi-naked woman in front of him. His mate. The reason for the aching boner he had since he saw her in that club the previous night. His constricted balls killed him as well. He was fascinated by this woman, driven mad by her scent, presence, personality and body, but nevertheless confused. Last night she had been so tender, stroking his back, his biceps, his chest, his hair, touching him inch by inch like a blind person committing his features to memory. She had been doing that in her sleep, he had to admit it, but she had done all those things. She must not remember any of that now, obviously.

  He opened his mouth and was surprised by the calm and hypnotism in his otherwise grumpy morning voice.

  “Morning, baby” his lips let out.

  “Baby?!” she asked angrily. “Don’t you “baby” me! Did I agree to have sex with you or did you decide that on your own?” she spat the words out as if they were the reason she couldn’t remember much of last night.

  Adam Ford lifted the upper part of his body and rested his head on his hand, admiring her confidence while talking to him, a stranger practically, still in her underwear, messy hair and sleepy sea-deep blue eyes. She probably had no idea what her wavy hair, that curled a bit around her oval-shaped face, did to him. Or her small innocent nose. Or her rosy sinful full lips. He was a bit amused by his feisty mate. Her looks and personality. Yet, he was so hypnotized by her voice that he didn’t even remember the question.

  “I’m sorry, what did you say?” he tried to use the same calm tone as before.

  “This is stupid, but I’m going to say it one more time and if you don’t give me a straight answer I’m calling the police”, she threatened him, hoping he would clarify the situation so she could just go home. “What happened last night and why am I wearing only this?” she continued, gesturing to her semi-nakedness.

  Now Anna was really getting angry.

  “You don’t remember much, do you?” he asked with the same smile on his face.

  “Wipe that smile off your face. This isn’t anywhere near funny and I can get your ass arrested as soon as I get out of here.” she said so intently she was actually screaming now.

  “Feisty, aren’t you?” he said to himself and slowly got up and out of the bed. “We didn’t do anything last night, not what you’re afraid of anyway. You passed out right outside the club, I caught you so you can thank me for not having cracked that pretty head of yours, carried you here, cleaned you up, got you out of that sexy dress – which by the way probably still smells like cigarettes”, he stopped to look at her reaction and wide blue eyes were staring back at him, her right hand covering her mouth and the other one rubbing her stomach.

  “Go on…” she encouraged him.

  “Then I covered you with those sheets because you were trembling, and went to the kitchen to fetch some water for you. Do you remember what you did after that?” Adam looked at her quite amused.

  “Well, by the looks of it, you decided to stay and sleep here, after kidnapping and groping an unconscious woman in the process. I’m going to love suing you, that’s for sure!” she pointed her finger threateningly towards him.

  Seeing that whatever he said, she interpreted it in her own way, distorting reality the way it suited her, he decided to get closer to her, but keep his distance at the same time in order to show her that his intentions were honorable. He hoped she would see that. The boner he sported didn’t help matters though. His bear was making things worse as it groaned low in his throat. He felt he was talking to someone with a split personality. Someone very differen
t from the carefree woman in the yellow dress dancing on her own. Maybe that was her daytime personality. He could deal with that, his brother always referred to him as the imperturbable calm rock of the family. He could deal with the woman made for him.

  He stepped towards her and she backed away, losing her balance for a second, something a human guy wouldn’t have caught, only to feel the window sill against her back and stop there.

  “Don’t come near me,” she heard herself saying angrily, rejecting him instead of following her gut and hugging him. Touching him would make her calm down. Just the thought made her lust pool in her stomach. But she shouldn’t. She mustn’t. She had to leave.

  “I’m not going to touch you, I just want you to understand I haven’t done anything to hurt you,” he said, careful not to tell her something that could make her even angrier with him. He knew the hangover made her grumpier than she would normally be. Her nipples were visible through the soft cotton bra. His palms itched to touch them, but he was aware that getting closer to her wasn’t the best idea. She looked like a cornered animal and he knew better than to mess with that. He couldn’t stop from asking himself if kissing and caressing her would change her attitude as it had the night before.

  “I’m leaving," she announced. "Where are my things?”

  He couldn’t understand her reaction. How could she leave when her arousal was driving him crazy? Wasn’t she aware of the effect they had on each other? It was beyond his comprehension. Her curves sent shivers down his spine and his cock was ready for action. Accepting the situation was out of the question, but he had to be patient and she needed time to adjust. He had to give her that, so he just pointed in the direction of the bathroom and she stormed out of sight, only to be out in less than a minute in the dress she wore the night before, holding the tiny purse he had almost lost.

  “Show me the way out,” she said, calmer now that she was dressed.

  “We have to talk, baby,” he whispered.

  She shot him a glare meant to show him she was serious about her decision and silence him at the same time.

  “Please stay for breakfast at least, I can prepare something to help you with the hangover,” he offered using the same hypnotizing voice as before, hoping to get her to accept to spend a little time with him and actually talk this time, for him to get to know her and confess his attraction to her.

  “No,” the thunder in her voice told him she couldn’t be stopped.

  The bear inside him told him there was a way to stop her. His mind was flooded by images of her lying on his bed naked, pinned down on the mattress by his strong body while claiming her. Tempting, but no. Stoically, he opened the other door that led to the cooler hallway and showed her the way through the living room and to the front door. He searched for his keys on the top shelf he always left them on and unlocked the door.

  She left without saying anything.

  His bear wasn’t going to let him off the hook for letting the female escape without claiming her as his. It wanted to tear his way out of his skin and go after her, but he couldn’t let that primal instinct do that. He’d followed it last night and look where it got him. His mate was a modern, independent, strong-willed woman and he had to woo her, court her and let her come to him, not force anything on her or else she would leave. He had to heal the hurt in her life or at least do something to help her cope with what she was dealing with.

  He went back to his room and his bear roared deep in his throat. His bear was hungry for his female and her scent was on his sheets, on his bed and in his bathroom. His skin was enveloped in the sweet caress of her fragrance but it didn’t help calm the animal. He went into the steamy shower. How ironic fate was. After living all of these years with the intention of finding his own happiness and giving up the thought some years back, settling for a bachelor’s life, he found the coincidence to be incredible. It couldn’t have been more annoying how fate dealt the cards every time. The deep-sea blue eyes in his nightmares belonged to a real person. After all these years she was there again. He couldn’t understand why this was happening. He remembered the first time he saw her and it had been excruciating. It felt like destiny was twisting the dagger in the wound deep in his heart that was starting to crack open the more he stared at her.

  Air. He needed balmy air. He wasn’t suffocating, just the shock of having seen and lost her again was triggering a panic attack. We can do this, we will follow her scent and find out where she lives. Everything will be fine. She is mine, I know that now. He talked to his bear like this every time the animal decided to use his human body to make him aware there was a problem deep inside and something bothered him. His bear was a wild but wise creature. Adam trusted it now.

  The hot water spraying all over his body relaxed him.

  He knew he’d done the best he could the night before.

  It had been the right thing to do.

  He just had to show her that.

  He would.

  CHAPTER THREE

  She couldn’t get her mind off the mountain of a man she’d slept next to the night before. People this good-looking shouldn’t be allowed to roam freely. She could think of ways to never get him to leave the house. The way his veins popped out when he clenched his fists, the way his predatory-like eyes looked at her as if he was starved, the way his eight-pack flexed as he took steady breaths. She could just stare at him for hours, lost in fantasies of him pleasing her. Thinking about this made her moan.

  She cursed. The taxi driver must have heard her because the car stopped all of a sudden. Her eyes focused and she saw she was in front of her house. Perhaps he hadn't heard her. It wasn’t one of the mansions or penthouses other lawyers owned, and it wasn’t even one in the ridiculously-expensive residential areas they usually lived in. It didn’t matter to her. It was the place she’d always dreamt of.

  Practical. Little. A sanctuary. She preferred the privacy of her red-brownish neighborhood to the more modern areas in town. It reminded her of fiery autumn leaves. It relaxed her. The solid brick looking house she’d bought several years back looked just like the rest on that street did. The only changes she insisted on being made were interior-related. She hated the cold winters in this area so she had floor heating installed, and thick insulation covered the walls. It had been her best investment. She’d fallen in love with the tall, wide windows and the view of her back garden.

  After paying for the trip, she went in, waiting to be greeted by her laidback, leg-rubbing, fluffy cat love. The cat was nowhere in sight. She must be out hunting, she thought. Nobody to comfort her. She felt abandoned, empty and sick. She had to eat something. Why didn’t she accept his breakfast offer? It was in her genes to reject her own desires, but sometimes it sucked.

  Shit! What time was it? She’d left her phone at home the previous night. Maybe a client called. Where was it? She couldn’t remember if she had anything to do that day, but was sure she did. She went to check her study, one of the smallest rooms in the house and at the same time her den. She used it not only for work, but for her hobbies as well. It was neatly arranged and decorated in a minimalist way, a massive beehive-shaped bookcase the size of the left wall that looked like it just grew on it and an L-shaped dark-grey fabric couch opposite to it.

  In front of the wide window was her longer-than-necessary wooden-desk and as soon as she entered the room, she saw what she was looking for. As she approached the desk, the flashy red light that let her know she had messages on her phone caught her attention. She had a meeting scheduled for the day. It was Saturday, but it didn’t matter, it was from one of her oldest clients asking for her to confirm their 3 o’clock meeting. Shit! Her phone informed her it was only twelve.

  So much for breakfast, she thought. She confirmed the time but she changed the place to her favorite place. She needed that mind-fuck chocolate cake to get through the day. It was relatively close to her house too. Bonus.

  She had time to get ready and get to the place earlier to grab some food
before she fainted. She headed for the fridge first. She had to eat something, even if it was a sandwich. And pickled cucumbers. Lots of those. As she rummaged through the fridge for the things she needed, she played last night’s events in her head. The last thing she remembered was herself in front of the club, sitting on the pavement, sobbing and being hugged by that man. Relief poured through her. Panic too, accompanied by arousal and guilt. Her head throbbed, she was dizzy and her revolving stomach didn’t help the situation. Then she tried to get up and that was the end. She’d fainted. Now she was quite relieved he’d been there to take care of her. She should have thanked him. Munching on the cucumbers helped with the nausea. She knew where he lived so she might just leave a message on his door.

  

  The shower was supposed to be quick, yet it felt like forever. Forever under the steaming hot water thinking about his fingers caressing every inch of her body. She was a grown woman, she was almost thirty, yet she felt much like a virgin teenager. What was wrong with her? It was just a man. A decent one too. He did something nobody had ever done for her, he took care of her while she was barely conscious, while sporting the most delicious boner she’d ever seen. Her heart was winning the battle against her mind. The rest of her body was supporting her heart too. She had to talk to him again. To apologize and to find out what happened while she’d been out of it.

  Her hips stiffened every time she thought about him. Her pussy was ready for him too, tingling in expectation to be touched and sending her hormones into overdrive. “I could do something about it and put you out of your misery” she whispered and as she did that her brain sprung into action and the image of his head between her legs flooded her mind. He held her hips in a tight grip and his tongue swirled around her nub. A few times more and her whole body lit up in an unexpected orgasm. She felt warm light beaming through the cracks of her rigid exterior, making the shell soften under its force. She gasped. Her mind was against her too. She had to leave. She had to protect herself.