The Easter Bunny's Bear: BBW Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance Read online

  And it will be good to have a sense of the place, he thought as he carefully made his way past the sheep.

  With annoyed baas, they moved out of the way. One of them stood its ground, staring at him from narrow, distrustful eyes. It had small, curled horns, and when it lowered its head a little in challenge, Desmond made sure to stay out of its way.

  “I'm a bear, you know," he told the sheep from a safe distance. "Huge, brown fur, big paws? A predator you should be afraid of?"

  The sheep baaed again, a low, mocking sound. It took a step forward.

  Desmond raised a brow. "The ponies at least have the good sense to be afraid," he said. "Guess it's true what they say about sheep."

  The insulted sheep apparently took that as its cue to launch an attack, and Desmond had to break into a run to be able to jump the fence on the other side of the meadow just in time.

  "We'll see if you won't regret it when the wolves show up," he told the bleating sheep, and then made his way onward.

  He intended to walk a full circle. He'd glanced at the map before he left; it shouldn’t take more than an hour or two. Maybe he would catch Lisa in time to have lunch together when he came back, and then he could devote the afternoon to the werewolves' lair once more. From all his observations so far, they usually didn't seem to get active before the late afternoon.

  I'll get Carter before the week is over. The guy's not just a danger to the area. He's a danger to himself. If I wait for a moment when he's on his own, or maybe with another wolf or two, on the way to some bar...

  Carter was the type to make mistakes. All Desmond had to do was wait.

  And then I'll need to tell Lisa about the bear, he thought and sighed out loud.

  He'd never had to explain his little problem before. He'd never met anyone important enough to make it worth it. But Lisa clearly didn't mind animals.

  If she can deal with that sheep flock from hell, surely she'll be able to deal with a tame bear on her farm, he thought and chuckled to himself.

  At that moment, his bear perked up.

  Honey, the bear said insistently.

  Desmond looked up. He'd been slowly crossing another meadow―this one was fortunately free of sheep. Instead, he'd been walking along an orchard. Old, gnarled apple trees heavy with white blossoms stood scattered throughout the meadow. Among them, there were taller trees, their blossoms with a pink tinge―cherry, he thought. When he took a closer look, he found plum trees and a huge, old walnut as well.

  Honey, the bear exclaimed again inside his head.

  Desmond shook his head. This isn't really the time to indulge―

  A whole hive, the bear groaned in ecstasy.

  With an internal sigh, Desmond gave up and turned towards where his bear's instincts were pulling him. Now that he was paying attention, he could hear a soft hum in the air. There were bees around somewhere, not too far away.

  When he walked on, he quickly found the source of that hum, and of his bear's excitement. Before him stood one of the old apple trees, its branches low and twisted. It was split in the middle, as though it had been hit by lightning once. And there, in the hollow in the tree's trunk, bees had built a home.

  A hive, with bees busily swarming to and fro―and combs dripping with honey.

  All ours, the bear grumbled greedily in his head.

  Desmond hesitated. He'd wanted to explore the farm's surroundings. He definitely didn't want to shift so close to the farm.

  But the scent of honey was irresistible, and his bear was fighting his stalling with the same fervor of a child eager to rip open its Christmas presents.

  Desmond took a deep breath. He looked around carefully. The orchard couldn't be seen from the farm, and there weren't any roads nearby. Surely Lisa was still busy with the mares about to foal.

  Let's get that honey, the bear demanded.

  Desmond sighed, but then a smile spread over his face and he began to strip, the bear's excitement overcoming even the warning hum of the bee colony.

  Surely one small indulgence wouldn't hurt...

  Chapter Five

  Lisa

  Lisa gave Lancelot a pat when the pony mouthed curiously at her pocket.

  "So greedy," she complained and laughed, then pulled out the carrot he knew was waiting. "Here you are. I'll get you more hay as soon as I've fed the dog."

  She turned and gave a sharp whistle. Lenny, the ancient Labrador, raised an eye and gave her a baleful look.

  "Come on, you!" she said. "Earn your keep. Let's check up on the sheep, and then it's time for lunch for both of us."

  She wondered suddenly if Desmond would be back in time to have lunch with her. Her heart still beat faster when she thought of her hand in his. God, the sex had been spectacular. It had felt so good she still couldn't believe it!

  But even more unbelievable was the fact that a guy like Desmond, with his warm eyes and strong arms and good looks, would scramble up a stack of straw bales to sit with her in the stable. She hadn't even felt as if he was trying to impress her. Not that he had to, because she was already impressed enough by that six pack hidden under his clothes, and the orgasm that had nearly killed her.

  Still, most guys would laugh at the idea of a date in a stable that smelled of horses, or kissing a woman who had straw sticking to her clothes and hair.

  Lenny's head dropped back onto the ground as though he had read her thoughts. He grumbled as he covered his eye with a paw, and Lisa shook her head with a laugh at his complaint.

  "Some help you are!"

  She sighed, then had to fend off Lancelot, who wanted to make certain that there were no more carrots hidden in her pockets.

  She gave the sky a thoughtful look again. She didn't quite trust the forecast that had announced rain for today. In fact, the sun was shining brightly, and there were only a few, white clouds gently drifting above. It was unusually warm for a spring day. Perhaps whatever thunderstorm had been threatening to form had already dissolved.

  Still, she wanted to check up on the sheep again. She didn't want to leave them outside all night through a storm, not in the spring with lambs on the way. And if the sheep seemed unsettled, she could always bring them closer to the stable. They always seemed to sense if the weather was about to change.

  Lenny yawned and rolled to his other side.

  "I see how it is!" she said in mock disappointment, then fetched a bucket with a handful of pellets. It was always a good idea to be prepared for having to lure the herd's bull-headed leader back home. Especially now, with the grass green and high.

  When she made it to the pasture, she was startled to find the sheep all gathered at the gate, pressing against the fence as though they had been waiting for her to come and lead them home.

  With a frown, she looked up at the sky. Was a thunderstorm approaching after all?

  But the sky was clear and blue. Even the fluffy, small clouds had disappeared. The sun was shining down with enough force that it almost felt like a summer's day.

  "What's wrong?" she asked the sheep, searching for the small herd's leader.

  A hard head butted her hand. With a loud baa, the sheep announced his displeasure, his small, dark eyes clearly judging her for having taken so long.

  "Everything all right, you guys?" she asked again, surveying the pasture. What could have upset the sheep?

  "I guess we're going home then..."

  She opened the gate. For once, there was no need to lure them back with food. The herd filed out one after the other, hastening quickly back down the familiar path, without even a single sheep trying to escape and find a way to other, greener pastures.

  Lisa watched them in bafflement. She closed the gate, but then decided better. She wouldn't be able to sleep well tonight if she didn't figure out what had upset the sheep. And maybe it was something as simple as a fox trying to build a new den...

  She circled the pasture. She kept her eyes on the grass, but there was nothing to see: no foxes, no injured lambs, no snakes
in the grass. Finally, at the other end of the meadow, where a fence divided it from the orchard, she heard a low, insistent buzzing.

  Curious, she climbed over the fence and then ventured into the orchard. She knew there was a wild beehive in one of the trees, but as long as she left that tree alone when picking apples, it had never caused a problem. And why would bees suddenly decide to attack her sheep?

  "That makes no sense," she said in a low voice. She walked around the old walnut tree. There was the apple tree that had been split almost in half during a storm once, long ago, and there...

  "Oh my God," she said and froze, her heart skipping a beat.

  There, right before her, a large, brown bear was sitting in the grass, holding a honeycomb in its hands that was dripping golden honey all over its paws.

  Shock held her frozen for a heartbeat. Frantically, she tried to remember what to do in case a bear attacked. But she couldn't remember anything except for play dead.

  Even the thought of that sounded terrifying! Wouldn't that be the perfect invitation for the bear to come and eat her?

  She felt her heart pounding in her chest. It was racing so fast she was certain the bear had to hear it. Slowly, carefully, she lifted one foot to take a step back, her chest so tight with panic she could barely breathe―and then the bear lifted its head.

  It looked right at her, the dark eyes strangely intelligent, and there was only one thought left in her head.

  This is it. I’m dead.

  With her heart beating so quickly that she felt dizzy, instinct took over. All of a sudden, her limbs started to tingle. Then came the strange weightlessness, that split second of disorientation when her mind had to deal with the fact that she was no longer a woman standing upright, but a small animal crouching on all fours.

  Then the shifting was complete. The sharp senses of the animal overwhelmed her with information: the scent of the bear that screamed danger at her, the angry buzz of the disturbed bees, the scent of the orchard, green grass and tree sap and budding blossoms, and beyond the sharp scent of sheep and meadow that promised safety.

  The bear was still staring at her. Now that Lisa was a bunny, it seemed giant, towering over her as large as the trees. It raised a paw―and she bolted.

  Three jumps, as fast and as far as the strong legs of the bunny could propel her forward.

  After the third jump, she changed direction to confuse the predator. She landed in front of a tree―and there, opening in invitation before her paws, was a hole in the ground. A small burrow, no longer occupied, her nose said.

  The same instinct that had made her shift and run now took over once more. Small, dark places meant safety. Underground, predators like the bear could not follow.

  In the time of a heartbeat, she had vanished into the burrow between the tree's roots, safely hidden away in the darkness, and then she waited.

  She pressed herself close to the ground. With her brown fur, she could just as well have been a stone, or a lump of dirt. Her nose twitched as she waited. Her heart was still racing, her body quivering. The burrow smelled stale and lonely. Whoever had lived here had left years ago.

  Then there was the sound of the bear moving, his paws making the ground vibrate with every step.

  She pressed herself closer to the ground, motionless. She had scurried back far enough that he couldn't reach her with his paws, but even so, she trembled with every creak, every snuffling sound the bear made.

  There was a strange silence that lasted several heartbeats. And then―

  "Lisa?"

  That was Desmond's voice.

  For a moment, she could not understand what was going on. Had Desmond not seen the bear?

  Fear for Desmond warred with her panic. She had to warn him―but how could she do that with the bear waiting for her?

  "Lisa?" Desmond called again. "Did you just shift into a bunny?"

  She couldn’t make sense of his words―had he just mentioned shifting?

  Then, slowly, it started to make sense. Desmond had seen her shift. No, Desmond knew what shifting meant!

  Her nose twitched. There was the scent of Desmond. And the scent of honey, cloying and sweet. And there... No, the scent of the bear was distant, the wind already blowing away the smell of fur and predator.

  The bear was gone. Desmond remained.

  It all made a strange sense, but she couldn’t allow herself to think about it just yet. Instead, she took a careful step forward, and then another. Her heart was still pounding with shock, but there was no sound but that of Desmond breathing.

  Another step, and another. There was the opening that led outside. She pressed herself close to a root. Light fell in, and there was still no sign of the bear.

  She inched forward―and there. She could see Desmond's bare feet.

  Another moment of hesitation as she tried to decide what to do. The bunny's instincts still said to hide away. But there was also the terror of imagining her mate in danger.

  Warn Desmond, the bunny's voice whispered in her head.

  She wanted to. She knew she had to.

  But he knows about shifters, she thought in confusion. And he's here now, and the bear is gone. Could that mean...?

  "Don't be afraid, please," Desmond said softly. "I'm sorry."

  She watched from her hiding place as he knelt before her hole.

  "I'm the bear. I'm a shifter too. I didn't mean to startle you."

  Her breath escaped in a startled little gasp. So it was true! Again she sniffed. The scent of bear was very distant; the scent of Desmond was strong.

  No danger, the senses of her bunny said. We're safe. We're with our mate.

  Slowly, she rose and came out of her burrow. It was just as her nose had told her: there was no bear to be seen. And Desmond was looking at her with a mixture of chagrin and delight.

  Suddenly resolute, she shifted back―then flushed when she realized that they were now facing each other buck naked.

  "I'm sorry," they both said at the same time, and then grinned at each other, the tension suddenly broken.

  "I can't believe you're a shifter!" Desmond said.

  "I can't believe you're a bear! You gave me such a scare." She couldn't stop grinning. Her heart was still beating fast from all the excitement, but now that she wasn’t about to end up as a bear's lunch, the panic turned to euphoria.

  "You're a shifter! And I'm not going to die!" She giggled, then clasped her hand over her mouth, beaming at Desmond. "I should be upset that you didn't tell me," she said when she could talk again, "but I'm so glad you aren't a real bear."

  “That was not how I wanted this to go,” he said with remorse in his voice.

  She faced him with her hands on her hips, still not quite able to believe that the bear had really been Desmond. “You could have simply told me! It would have saved me a lot of worry.”

  “I was worried too,” he admitted. “I thought you were… well, human. Not a shifter. I was afraid you wouldn’t understand. And I needed you to understand.”

  Slowly, Lisa nodded. “I’ve thought about it too. Telling you. The last time I told someone, it didn’t end well. And I was afraid you’d run if you knew.”

  Desmond came a little closer. Mortified, she suddenly realized that they were both still naked. But then he rested a hand on her arm, still so gentle with her. Suddenly she found herself clinging to him, resting her head against his shoulder as the emotions suddenly caught up with her.

  “I was so afraid you wouldn’t understand,” she whispered. “Because I needed you to understand. Because you are…”

  “Special?” he said softly. “I’ve felt it too. From the moment I saw you. My heart recognized you. My bear recognized you.”

  Lisa swallowed. “I didn’t believe in mates,” she admitted, still terrified at what she was giving away. But if she didn’t take a risk now, she might lose out on the best thing that had ever happened to her.

  “But then you came along.” She looked up into his eyes. B
rown, like the bear’s fur. Warm, and a little insecure now. She remembered how they had shone with passion when they had made love. “And I believe in mates now.”

  His hand came up to cup her cheek, his thumb caressing along her cheekbone.

  “I believe in mates too,” he murmured. “I believe―no, I know that you’re mine. I can’t stop thinking of you. I was afraid that I’d waited too long, that I’d wasted my chance to find my mate―and then I saw you. And you were perfect. Everything about you is perfect.”

  His hands slid slowly down her body, curving around her hips to pull her even closer against him. She gasped when their lips met for another hungry kiss. The need for him suddenly grew overwhelming. She could feel his heartbeat against her chest, could feel him hardening against her thigh―and then there was a loud, buzzing sound.

  When they looked up, a swarm of angry bees had formed in the air between them and the destroyed beehive. The humming increased in volume―and then the cloud of bees swerved in their direction.

  “Run,” Lisa gasped and grabbed Desmond’s hand.

  The buzz grew louder when the bees followed. She yelped when she felt something buzzing in her hair and shook her head wildly, managing to dislodge the bee.

  “Faster,” Desmond cried and pulled her along.

  When she looked back in panic, she saw that the bees had gained on them.

  “This way!” She swerved to the left all of a sudden, the bees still in pursuit. They jumped a crumbled wall, and then…

  “The lake,” Desmond called out in relief when he saw where Lisa had led them.

  Lisa had no breath left to answer. All she could do was run and hold on tightly to his hand. There was another bee in her hair now, buzzing in rage, and she couldn’t shake it free―but then they burst through the reeds that grew along the shore.

  The water was still cold, but in her panic, Lisa didn’t care. Still holding hands, she and Desmond ran straight into the lake, crashing through waterlilies, the bees still hot on their heels.

  “Dive,” she cried when the water reached their waist.

  Simultaneously, they took the plunge. The cold of the water was like a shock. Below water, she opened her eyes and found Desmond looking at her. Water lilies gently swayed around them.