One Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 1) by Harmony Raines Read Free Book Online Page A

released was if they made love together.
    I like that idea , her bear said seductively.
    We’re in a crowded restaurant , she reminded her bear, who was standing up, filled with anticipation of where the evening was going to end. Although her bear was imagining what his bear looked like, what color his coat was and how sharp his claws.
    “What are you thinking?” he asked, and she looked at him sharply, afraid he might be able to read her mind, but the connection wasn’t that deep.
    Pity , her bear said.
    “I was thinking that the night is warm and the mountain is calling me.”
    He grinned. “I was hoping you might say that. After dessert we can go and run. If you want to. I’ve missed the mountains more than I thought possible.”
    “I don’t mind skipping dessert.” She had never said those words before. The highlight to any meal was always a sticky-sweet desert, but tonight she didn’t want sweet, she wanted Cade.
    Things might get sticky though , her bear said, and an image of Isabelle and Cade making love under the stars flickered into her brain.
    “That is a very sexy smile,” Cade said, his voice low, sexy. It didn’t help. She wasn’t sure she was going to be able to finish her meal.
    You have to keep your strength up , her bear told her.
    She was right, and the sooner they finished eating and paid the bill, the sooner they could leave and spend some real time alone.
    “I’ll pay,” she said, taking her credit card out of her purse.
    “No. I insist.” He pulled out his wallet and took out some cash.
    “Cade, I want to. It will make me feel better about cuffing you.”
    “I thought you enjoyed seeing me in handcuffs, at your mercy.” He laughed. “Or are you the kind of woman who likes to be at a man’s mercy?”
    “No,” she said quickly.
    “Not even a little bit. In the bedroom?” He undressed her with his eyes, and she squirmed in her seat.
    He might be right; the thought of being at the mercy of Cade’s hands and mouth was inviting. However, she had fought to be a man’s equal, and had accomplished it. Any special favors she might have received for getting the job here in Tawny Valley would have been because she was a shifter, not because she was a woman.
    She got up from her seat, and he came around the table, took her hand, and kissed her cheek. “Thank you.”
    “For what?”
    “For dinner, for believing me. And for whatever else the evening might bring.”
    Shivers of desire coursed through her. Maybe they should take a rain check on the whole shifting thing and head straight back to her place.
    Not a chance , her bear said. I want some fun with him first .
    Isabelle sighed. She knew what kind of fun her bear liked. It had little to do with seduction and more to do with rolling in mud and washing off in a freezing-cold stream, followed by trying to hunt down a rabbit.
    “Ready?” he asked.
    “Yes,” she said, and her bear prepared to be freed.

Chapter Nine – Cade
    Leaving the restaurant, they took her car and drove up into the mountains. As Isabelle navigated the steep roads, he considered what a bad mate he was. No job, a small amount of savings, and a baby. Not exactly a lot to offer a potential mate. As he looked across at Isabelle, he knew she could have done so much better, and decided he had to become a better man, a better provider for his family. For Isabelle and Maisie.
    “When’s the last time you came up here?” Isabelle asked.
    “Three, maybe four years ago. I came back to visit my parents in between cases, but never got this far. To be honest, my bear has been a little cooped up for a while.” His bear stretched and prowled around the edges of his mind, waiting for the moment the car stopped and they would be free to run across the mountain slopes he loved so well.
    “Didn’t he ever get out while you were undercover?” Isabelle swung the car expertly onto a narrow track, avoiding the big potholes in the road. He had to admire her: she was strong,