Free The Billionbear's Bride: BBW Bear Shifter BWWM Paranormal Romance by Zoe Chant Page B

have given him pause, because a second later he held up his hands in surrender.
    “Jeez, Bruce, take a joke.”
    Bruce glared at his retreating back.
    Next to him Violet giggled uncertainly. “What was that, some macho man pissing contest?”
    “… Something like that.”
    “You didn’t seem to mind when he pulled me away,” she pointed out, with a light, teasing smile. “What changed?”
    “I was trying to be nice.”
    Her hand squeezed his. “So was I, you know. You can cut in anytime, by the way.”
    Bruce smiled down at her. They weren’t really dancing, but swaying gently. There wasn’t any music, but their bodies were in perfect sync with each other. “I’ll remember that, Mrs. Violet Davis.”
    Her smile lit up her face, and she tucked herself more securely into his side. “I haven’t changed my name yet.”
    “No?”
    Shyly she looked down. “I didn’t know if there would be a point if we were just going to …”
    If we were just going to break up anyway . That was what she was going to say.
    Bruce’s lips brushed her temple. “Maybe I’ll change my name,” he suggested lightly.
    Silent laughter shook her body. “That would definitely cap the weirdness of this week.”
    “Weirdness? What weirdness?”
    He must have sounded concerned, because she rushed to reassure him. “Oh, it wasn’t that bad. I’ve just never lived out in the country. You know what I saw the other night?”
    Bruce stiffened. “What?”
    “A bear .” But oddly, she was beaming. “An honest-to-God bear. Talk about wildlife.”
    “You weren’t scared?” he asked cautiously.
    “No. Well, not really.” She frowned. “I guess that’s weird, isn’t it? But I felt totally safe.”
    That’s because you were , thought Bruce, but he couldn’t say that.
    After their passionate kiss on the porch the night before, Bruce had recalled Wanda’s words from earlier. She was, understandably, worried for her friend; their “acting” during dinner had been a little too good. A little too real . So she cornered him about it after dessert under the pretense of talking about work. He had confessed that Violet really was his mate.
    Instead of calming Wanda down, that had only stoked her ire.
    “And you haven’t told her about—you know?” his assistant had hissed, arms akimbo. In this state, even his bear didn’t want to mess with her. “This is my friend , you said you would.”
    “I’m waiting for the right time,” he’d replied testily.
    “There’s no right time to tell anyone you can turn into a grizzly! I’m not keeping this secret from her for you. You tell her, or I will.”
    She had a point, he had to admit. But with his bear clan coming over to celebrate and her nervousness about meeting his family, it seemed like extra-terrible timing at the moment. Just a few days, he’d assured her.
    The guilt of keeping a secret from her had made him pull away from Violet on the porch, even though he had ached to sweep her up in his arms and head straight for the master bedroom. It had left him irritable and poor company, so he’d headed outdoors and shifted to his bear form to let off some steam.
    Being a bear was sometimes easier than being human. Even though he was still himself , a bear’s mind was more clear, its emotions less complicated. Bears didn’t know how to untangle difficult situations; they didn’t care about anything but their next meal and protecting what was theirs.
    That had lasted until he’d seen her standing by the window, cupping something in her hands. She was wearing a nightgown, something flimsy, and the sight of her had stopped him in his tracks. He wanted to fill his eyes with her sumptuous curves and lovely smile.
    He knew then that he would do anything for her. It was more than just the bear’s recognition of its mate. It was love, the real love of knowing someone.
    Bruce blinked, putting those thoughts aside for the moment.
    “Don’t get too friendly with the grizzlies,” he joked