Free Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Adaira) BBW Bear Shifter Romance (Hope Valley BBW online dating app romances Book 6) by Ariana Hawkes

bit?” she yelled, after catching her foot on a rock and tripping into the undergrowth. He stopped immediately, turning with a frown on his handsome face.
    “What’s that?” he said. Damnit . Now he couldn’t understand her either. He hadn’t had any trouble on the phone.
    “I said, could you slow down a bit? I don’t know this route, and it’s a bit hard going for me,” she said, speaking very slowly and clearly.
    “Oh, sorry,” he said, with a grin, that carried barely a hint of apology. He dropped his pace and she caught him up. They’d been walking for at least fifteen minutes, and there was no sign of the cabin. This wasn’t exactly what she’d signed up for.
    “How much further?” she called.
    “Just another five minutes,” he replied, when she’d repeated the question.
    At last, the trees opened up and a whole bunch of cabins came into view. She frowned. For some reason, she’d had the impression that he lived up on the mountain in isolation. She tried to recall what was in his profile. No, he hadn’t actually said that. I’ve just been jumping to conclusions.
    “There’s a few of you bears living here then?” she said. He turned to her, a curious expression on his face.
    “Yes, there’s quite a few of us,” he replied. “This is my cabin.” He pointed to the largest one, set a little apart from the others.
    “What did you do to deserve that?” she said.
    “I’m the leader,” he said, his voice becoming a little hard.
    “O-kay,” she muttered to herself. He brought her to the cabin, pushed the door open, and carried her bag inside.
    “Come in. I’m sure you’ll want to rest,” he said. She followed him in. The cabin was rustic yet luxurious, with expensive-looking wooden furniture, tapestry hangings on the wall, and big fur rugs on the wooden floor. Two doors led off the main room. She could make out that one room was a bathroom and the other contained a bed with a heavy, wooden frame. The main room contained several couches and beanbags. She sat down on one of the couches and immediately took her boots off. God, that feels good!
    “Nice place,” she said. “Not quite what I expected.” He looked very curious.
    “What were you expecting?” he said. She gazed around the room.
    “Well, to be honest, I kind of imagined you lived in a shed!” she said. He smiled.
    “And why was that?” She gave a nervous laugh. His tone was strangely probing, and it put her on edge.
    “Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because you live so far away. I thought it must be hard to get building materials up here. But it looks like you’ve managed pretty well.” She gazed at his sound system, flat screen TV and bar fridge. Hadn’t he said he didn’t have electricity? She must’ve misunderstood. He laughed.
    “I have family members who handle that for me.”
    “Ah.” She looked at him, wanting to recapture the easy chat they’d had on the phone, but she was uncharacteristically stumped for things to say.
    “Were you impressed by how fast I got up here?” she said at last. “I bet you didn’t expect to see me so soon, hey?”
    “Yeah. What time did you set out?”
    “A little after 6am.” He nodded.
    “That’s very fast for a human.” She glanced out of the window, wondering what time it was. It had taken them quite a while to get here, and the sun had set already. Darkness wasn’t far off.
    “So, I was thinking I’d camp nearby. Can you recommend a good spot for me? Maybe among all these cabins?”
    “Of course, but I think you’d be more comfortable staying here.” Automatically, her eyes slid towards his bedroom. She gave a nervous laugh. Maybe he meant on the sofa. Either way, it suddenly felt way too intimate.
    “If it’s all the same to you, I’m the kind of girl who needs her own space when she’s getting to know someone.”
    “Ok, in that case you can pitch the tent anywhere you like, but if you keep it level with the right-hand side of the cabin, you should be