The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance Read Online Free PDF Page A

was wealthy as Midas and had a
past so horrific it broke her heart. He was like one of the damned heroes from
the gothic romance novels she’d read as a teenager.
    She
hurried up the bread aisle and crossed the store, moving away from where she’d
last seen him. While her instincts screamed for her to leave, there were a
couple more items on her list that she didn’t want to leave without. Chicken
soup was chief among them. As poorly as she’d felt over the last few of days, a
nice savory broth and noodles sounded divine. It wouldn’t hold a candle to her
grandma’s homemade recipe, but Mara didn’t have the energy to cook anything
from scratch at the moment.
    She
rushed down the canned foods aisle, grabbed the brand of soup she liked best,
and then turned the corner to fetch some crackers to crumble into her broth.
Dropping the box in her basket, she whirled around and ran smack dab into a
solid wall of muscle. Without looking up, she already knew who she’d run into.
Of course, it would be him . Who else? 
    She
lifted her head and made eye contact with Gray. “Hey,” she said. “How’re you
doing, Gray?”
    “I’m
good.” He looked her over, his scrutiny intense and palpable. “What about you?”
    “I’m
fine.” Her stomach clenched. “Yep. Perfectly fine.”
    He
frowned. “You don’t look so good.”
    Ouch.
That stung and made her feel worse than she already did. “Gee. Thanks.”
    “I
mean it. You look a little peaked. Are you feeling all right?”
    “I
think I’m coming down with a cold. Hence, the soup and crackers.” She held up
her basket.
    “Oh.
I’m sorry to hear that. If there’s anything I can do…”
    “I’m
fine,” she repeated. “But I should probably head out.”
    “Hang
on a second. I’m actually really glad I ran into you today.”
    That
surprised her.
“Oh?”                                                                    
    “Mm
hmm. I’d like to take you out sometime when you aren’t busy. We could grab a
bite to eat and get to know each other a little better.”
    Mara
wondered if he was being sincere or if that was code for getting into her pants
again. Not that it mattered either way. “I don’t know. I’m just getting out of
a long relationship that crashed and burned and I’m not really ready to start
something new yet.”
    “You
have to eat, don’t you?”
    “I
suppose so.” She glanced down at the items in her basket and wished she was
already at home, curled up with a hot cup of soup. Anywhere other than standing
in front of Gray, who looked as handsome and put together as he had the night
they’d met, while she undoubtedly looked like an extra in a zombie movie.
    “So
what’s the harm in sharing a meal with me? It doesn’t have to mean any more or
less than you want it to. I’ll take you out for a fat, juicy steak…”
    An
image of raw, bloody marbled beef popped into her mind and her stomach twisted
and heaved.
    “…with
all the fixin’s or seafood, if you’d rather. I know a great place that serves
the best fresh salmon in the state.”
    She
opened her mouth to reply and her breakfast rushed up her throat and exploded
from her mouth in a torrent of sickly pink vomit.
    Gray
jumped backward far enough that the puke splashed his shoes rather than his
shirt. “Oh shit.”
    An
icy wave of humiliation washed over her skin. She dropped the shopping basket
and slammed her hands over her mouth. “Oh my God! I’m so sorry.”
    Mortified,
she spun around and rushed from the store.
    * * * *
    Mara
drove straight home and resisted the temptation to drown herself in the sink
while she brushed the rancid taste from her mouth. She couldn’t believe she’d
thrown up on Grayson Wells. What the hell was wrong with her? It was like her
body was out to get her. First there’d been the explosive chemistry between
them and now she’d spewed all over his shoes. Great. Just