Adam (BBW Bear Shifter Wedding Romance) (Grizzly Groomsmen Book 1) by Becca Fanning Read Free Book Online Page A

her freefall slow incrementally. She hoped it was enough.

    The impact hurt more than she expected. She was thrust forward, her ribs hitting the dash with bruising force and knocking the air of her lungs. The Needle skidded over the surface of the water before slowly sinking. Gasping, Annie hit the eject button. Her seat launching out of the Needle and hitting the water a few yards away certainly did nothing for the spinning in her head. The parachute that came equipped on the back of the seat was a relief when it meant not smacking into the water again but soon she was fighting her way out of its folds. Eventually, she managed to escape the parachute and sit back in her seat, bobbing in the water and breathing deeply.  

    Annie pinched herself to force her thoughts to gather. She had to get to shore, but she needed the seat to do so since its function as a flotation device was the only thing keeping her from sinking due to the weight of her elaborate, diamond-encrusted, and now soaking wet wedding dress. If she went under, she wasn’t sure she’d be able to get her head above the surface again. She awkwardly managed to maneuver out of her underskirt, which helped, but Annie knew she wasn’t a strong enough swimmer to not feel worried still. In the end, she ended up clutching the seat in as much of a death grip as she could manage and doing an awkward doggy paddle to the shore. It took longer than she would have liked, but she made it to dry land without drowning. Then, however, the dress became a problem once again. It weighing her down was arguably better on the sand where drowning was no longer a concern, but it still slowed her down. Even without the underskirt, it was heavy and the material wouldn’t tear no matter how hard she tugged at it. She had two options: strip out of the dress and run around an unfamiliar planet in her underwear or leave the whole sodden contraption on.

    “I managed to get off your damn warship,” Annie mutter as she pulled futilely at her skirt, “and you’re still managing to make my life hell.”

    Opting to leave the dress on, she made her way into the forest of silver-barked trees that ran around the lake. Once she was far enough in that she was certain she couldn’t be seen either from the shore or the air, she slumped against a tree and slid to the ground. Annie knew that she didn’t have the time to waste on a mental breakdown, but she couldn’t seem to will the hysteria to stop. Her breathing turned rapid and shallow as her mind began to race, showing all the worst things that could happen next in a loop. She slapped herself, the stinging pain letting her gain some control over her thoughts. She needed to make a plan, and she needed to figure out how to make that plan happen, and she needed to…

    …were those voices?

    Annie stopped breathing entirely, listening intently. She could only pick out fragments of what was being said, but keywords like “recover” and “bride” told her all she needed to know about who, exactly, was close by. Annie weighed her odds of survival if she stayed versus if she ran. Clenching her jaw and squeezing her eyes shut, she gathered up her skirt. Then, snapping her eyes open, she threw herself into a mad dash forward.

    She had no idea which direction she was going or what would be waiting on her when she got there but anything would be better than being the property of a monster like Strathmore. Her boots pounded the ground with every step, sounding to Annie’s suddenly sensitive ears like thunder. Ahead, she saw the trees beginning to thin out. She decided to chance it; maybe there was someone who would be willing to help her.

    Annie darted out of the forest and immediately skidded to a stop. In front of her was a ship, in front of which were two groups of men talking next to a stack of crates. They all turned to look at her, and more than one of them reached for a weapon. Eyes wide, Annie backed up. Sure, these people probably