Savage Bear: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Read Online Free PDF Page B

individual flavor mixed with the ice cream made his dick swell, and he released her so they could share another spoonful.
    Leah stayed on his lap, sharing her ice cream with scoops and kisses, until the container was completely empty. The quiet moment was intimate and sexy, and he reveled in how well they got along.
    It had been a little over a week since he’d approached her table of friends, and they’d been together at least a little bit every day. Leah worked as a restaurant hostess from noon until nine in the evening, and after work she usually met up with her friends at the Wild Bear . True to his word, he didn’t approach her table or treat her any different; and true to her word, she didn’t expect him to. Every now and then they would catch the other staring, but she still laughed and danced with her friends, and he still remained brooding and elusive to everyone else.
    After his shift was over, they would meet at his apartment and spend the night together. Aside from enjoying each other’s bodies, nothing had changed…except everything. He and Leah didn’t only have sex. They talked—although not about the important stuff—and teased, and enjoyed each other’s company.
    The layer of tension that disappeared after their first night together never returned, and though it worried him sometimes, he didn’t dwell on it. No one treated him different, and the respect he’d earned over the years hadn’t diminished. His reputation wasn’t in jeopardy.
    Yet!
    He silenced the tiny voice of doubt, and watched Leah walk into the kitchen. Her jeans hugged her big, round ass like a second skin and he wanted to peel them off, fill his hands with the soft globes and take her from behind. Without a condom.
    Fuck!
    “Were you staring at my ass again?”
    He looked up to see her leaning against the wall separating the two rooms.
    “It’s a fantastic ass,” he said. “I can’t help it.”
    “I’ll let you touch it later,” she said, winking. “Now come in here and open your gift.”
    “You brought me something?”
    “Just a little something,” she said. “Actually, it’s something I thought we could share.”
    He walked into the kitchen and she pointed to a small shopping bag with the logo of the local bed and bath store.
    “It’s not wrapped,” she said. “I just saw it and thought of you.”
    He reached inside the bag and pulled out a cardboard carton holding two coffee mugs. One was blue with a line of white bears circling the base, and the other was white with blue bears.
    “Now, I know the bears aren’t brown, but I figured it was okay because some of them are blue. Plus, I like the blue mug best, so you can use the white one. Do you like them?”
    Coffee mugs. She’d bought him coffee mugs, and he didn’t think it was because she hated using his disposable foam cups. Although that might be part of it, he had a feeling it was much more. Another layer of tension seemed to slip away, and he almost smiled. The urge was both empowering and suffocating.
    What kind of wimp lost it over a couple of mugs? He took a deep breath and steeled his resolve. They weren’t serious, and the fact that she’d given him something didn’t mean anything. She was just a thoughtful person.
    He repeated the lies over and over, but he couldn’t be fooled.
    “If you don’t like them, I can return them,” she said, quietly. “I didn’t mean to—”
    “No,” he said, finally looking up at her. “I don’t want you to return them. I like them very much.”
    Her smile didn’t reach her eyes and he knew his reaction had disappointed her. He’d see that fake smile often if they were a mated couple, and the thought both sobered him and confirmed they were doing the right thing.
    He never wanted to be the man who took away her joy.
     
    ***
     
    Jared took another drink of his beer and listened as everyone around the picnic table erupted in laughter. Leah fit in perfectly with his coworkers, and she seemed to really