The Bear's Unlikely Baby: A Steamy Paranormal Romance (Bears With Money Book 10) Read online

  THE BEAR’S

  UNLIKELY BABY

  BEARS WITH MONEY

  AMY STAR

  Copyright ©2018 by Amy Star

  All rights reserved.

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  About This Book

  Ava Malone knew her biological clock was ticking and after a short affair with her handsome neighbor Eli Hudson she found out she was pregnant.

  A situation that was already complicated was about to become even more so when Ava discovered that Eli was a werebear .

  And a bear shifter having a baby with a human woman was not something that would go down well in his community.

  Eli's secret not only put Ava in danger but also his unborn child. Does this werebear have what it takes to keep everyone he loves safe? And most importantly, could he actually become a good father against all the odds?

  This is a paranormal shapeshifter pregnancy romance with a BIG twist. Expect some thrilling scenes in a book you will find impossible to put down!

  PROLOGUE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  PROLOGUE

  Ava Malone read the email she’d written one last time, making sure that she’d covered all her bases, and let the author down as gently as she could. Before she could hit send, a knock at the door interrupted her. “Come in!” she called out, going back to reading.

  A large man appeared in the doorway, the brilliant light of the sun streaming in around him, making it impossible to see. But then he stepped inside, and Ava couldn’t help but smile.

  “Hey, Eli. I’m sorry. I thought it might be Zoey.”

  “No worries,” Eli said, his smile warm and just slightly crooked. “Are you busy?”

  Ava looked back at the email she’d been working on for over an hour and sighed. “Not really. Just crushing someone’s dream.”

  “Sounds intense.”

  “It’s not, really.” She ran her fingers through her long auburn hair, sighing again. “I announced that I was open to queries on Twitter. Big mistake. I’ve got dozens of people hitting me up, and only two of them read my instructions before submitting.”

  “Ouch.”

  “It’s worse than that. I represent Young Adult authors, but I have queries from preschool to erotica, and none of them in my niche. I’ve tried to offer advice to as many as I can to get them headed in the right direction, but you have no idea how persistent people can be.”

  “I can imagine.”

  Her shoulders slumped, and she shook her head, then hit send on the last email before she could change her mind. “There. That’s the last one that has to hear ‘your work is good, but that’s not what I do.’ Hopefully, they won’t all take it as a personal rejection.”

  “You look like you could use a break. Or a day off.”

  She smiled. “You’re telling me. That’s one of the drawbacks of working from home. I can work anywhere, which means I end up working everywhere.”

  “Sounds like you need to find balance.”

  “I need a drink,” she said, then laughed. “What about you? What brings you over?”

  “Well, I actually came to say goodbye and ask you on a date.”

  “Goodbye?”

  “Yeah. Unfortunately, my company is moving me to another location, and they told me I have until Monday to get to my next assignment. There are always people that need training on the latest software.”

  “It’s Friday. That’s not really a lot of time.”

  He shrugged. “They have movers coming in, and most of the furniture came with the house, so I assume that it will leave that way, too. I only have what I can fit in suitcases. They’ll ship the rest to my next gig.”

  “That sounds like a rough life. You’ve only been here a few months. How do you make friends when you move so much?”

  He laughed. “I’m more of a loner, so that’s never really come up. I like the work, and I love the pay. That’s really enough for me.”

  She nodded, looking at him over the rim of her lilac colored glasses. “I would’ve never pegged you as an IT guy.”

  “You don’t really strike me as a literary agent, so I guess we’re even. What did you think I did?”

  “I don’t know. FBI, CIA. Some kind of super-secret agent.”

  He chuckled. “In Omaha?”

  “Hey!” she said, teasing him. “There’s more to Nebraska than corn and freight trains.”

  “I’ve noticed.”

  He was looking at her over the top of the laptop, dark brown eyes filled with a heat she hadn’t noticed before. She swallowed, trying to keep the conversation on track. “What about you? What did you think I did?”

  “Not too far off from a literary agent. I really thought you were a writer. You seem to have quite the imagination.”

  “I do write,” she said. “But writing doesn’t pay the bills, yet. So, in the meantime, I tell other writers why they aren’t ready to publish, and I answer hate mail from the people who can’t take rejection gracefully.”

  “I’m sure it’s not all bad,” he said.

  “It’s not. I’ve met some amazing people, some that I still follow on Twitter. And then there’s Zoey. If she hadn’t queried me and been so cool about it when I told her that her work wasn’t for me, I wouldn’t have my best friend.”

  “She is something else,” he laughed. “I thought you did represent her.”

  “I do now, but I rejected her twice before she sent me something I couldn’t turn down. And now, she’s helping me with my own novel. It’s an interesting turn of events I didn’t see coming.”

  He leaned on the edge of the kitchen bar where she had her workstation set up. “I guess we’re all full of surprises.”

  His words sent a shiver up her spine, but she mentally shook it off. He was leaving in a few days, and there was no point in exploring a relationship now. She’d let that opportunity slip by several times for the past few months, and now that she had time to hang out with him, he was leaving.

  But he did ask her out on a date, and by the way he was dressed, she had a feeling that he wasn’t talking about a fancy dinner.

  “What did you have in mind?”

  “For what?” he ask
ed.

  “A date? You asked me on a date, so I’m guessing that you had something in mind.”

  “I was thinking about Standing Bear Lake; have you been?”

  “Not since I was a kid. Hiking?”

  “Kayaking. It’s still a bit warm in the afternoon, so I thought we could go first thing in the morning and make a day out of it.”

  “I’ve never been,” she said, suddenly nervous.

  “There’s a first time for everything,” he said, winking at her.

  Her body filled with heat, and she wondered if he felt that same little thrill every time he saw her. But it didn’t matter. He was leaving soon, and this weekend was their one and only chance to connect. In less than a week’s time, he would be nothing more than a distant memory.

  “I have to work,” she said. “I don’t think I can spend an entire day.”

  “Everyone needs a day off,” he said.

  She faltered. What am I doing? she wondered. He was leaving, and she’d just be opening her heart up to someone to have it crushed when he moved away. Three days wasn’t much time, but it was enough time to realize that she’d wasted the last few months keeping her handsome neighbor at arm’s length. She didn’t want the pain of a broken heart, even if she was dying to know how his lips tasted, and if he was the big guy with a tender touch she imagined him to be.

  She shook her head. “I can’t. I’m sorry. It’s sounds amazing, but I have too much to do.”

  “It can’t wait?”

  “No, it can’t,” she lied.

  He pursed his lips together, nodding before forcing himself to smile. “I get it. Don’t worry about it. It’s been wonderful living next door to you, and I need to thank you for being so welcoming. I move a lot, and I haven’t had anyone be so friendly and kind to a strange man like you were.” His smile widened.

  “I thought I saw people come and go every now and then. I thought you had friends, I mean, besides me.”

  Great, Ava, she thought. Way to jam your foot in your mouth.

  “They’re coworkers, and none of them are quite as lovely as you.” She blushed. “Plus, you make an excellent apple pie.”

  “Thanks,” she said. She watched him turn to leave, fighting the urge to call him back and tell him that she would love to spend the weekend with him. She just didn’t want to risk breaking her own heart. Then, he was gone, and she was standing at the bar, staring at the closed door and wishing he would come back.

  Angry with herself for chickening out, she dialed Zoey’s number and waited impatiently for her to pick up.

  “I have a heroine about to save her man from going off the edge of a cliff,” she said crossly. “This’d better be good.”

  Ava let out a huge sigh. “He asked me out.”

  “No shit, really? What did you say?”

  “I said no.”

  She could hear Zoey’s mouth drop on the other end of the line.

  “You’re kidding. What is wrong with you? He’s gorgeous, and you’ve been talking about him for weeks.”

  “I know, I know. But he’s leaving.”

  “When?”

  “Sunday night.”

  “That gives you three days.”

  Ava laughed. “How did I know you would say that?”

  “I aim to please. I mean, come on, Ava. This is the opportunity of a lifetime.”

  “That’s a bit of an exaggeration. He wants to go kayaking, then have lunch and hang out. It’s not like he’s whisking me away to some luxurious spa in the mountains to spend the weekend in bed or something.”

  “Exactly. So, what are you so afraid of?”

  “That I might fall in love with him.”

  “Didn’t that happen already?”

  Ava blew out an exasperated breath. “No. I’m in lust with the idea of him. If I get to know him and find out that he’s just as wonderful as I imagined, I’m going to be screwed.”

  “We could hope.”

  “Stop,” Ava laughed. “I’m serious. What if he’s everything I imagined and more?”

  “Then you’ll be kicking yourself for the rest of your life for not taking that chance. Come on, Ava. Live a little. You can’t live vicariously through other people’s characters. You love excitement and the unknown. Give yourself a little taste of that this weekend. Hey, at least you know it’s over come Sunday morning. That’s more warning than most of us get.”

  “You make a good point.”

  “I always do.”

  Ava smiled. “Fine. I’ll do it.”

  “Wonderful! And don’t be a prude. If it were me, I’d take him right there in the kayak.”

  Ava choked a little. “Zoey, you like women.”

  “That’s what I’m saying. That man is H-O-T hot! I would do him in a heartbeat. What have you got to lose? There’s no strings and no expectations.”

  “You’re a mess, Zoey.”

  “And that’s why you love me. Now go. Call that man before he changes his mind.”

  Ava hung up, rubbing her hands on her slacks, then shaking them nervously. She’d never been so bold, and she didn’t know quite how it would be received, but she walked out her door anyway, and marched right down the sidewalk to his house, rapping her knuckles on the door a little too forcefully.

  He looked stunned when he opened the door, but when his lips parted and the scent of him swirled around her, she remembered Zoey’s words. She had nothing to lose.

  Before she could stop herself, she leaned forward and kissed him, wrapping her arms around his neck and pulling him in close. He froze for an instant, then his arms were around her waist, holding her tight. When she finally pulled away, she felt out of breath, and he looked just as surprised as she was.

  “I’m sorry,” she stammered. “That was a little out of line.”

  “No,” he said. “It was just right. I’m guessing you changed your mind? I was just about to bump my flight up to tomorrow, but if you want to hang out…”

  She laughed. “I’m not sure about kayaking, but I’d love to hang out this weekend and give you a proper sendoff.”

  He arched an eyebrow, but she only smiled, then shrugged. “What have we got to lose, right?”

  She walked into his house then, afraid she would change her mind if she thought too long about it.

  “Oh,” he said, then she took his hand and looked into his eyes. He smiled then led her down the hall to his room.

  Her hands were shaking with excitement as she pulled his shirt over his head, then threw her own shirt to the ground beside it. He moaned when he saw her, his eyes going straight to her chest. “No bra?” he said, breath catching.

  She shrugged. “I hardly ever wear one when I’m at home.”

  “I’m glad I didn’t know that before,” he growled, laughing as he nuzzled her neck.

  His lips were hot against her skin, his hands surprisingly rough for a man who worked in an office all day. He kissed the back of her neck, then her shoulder, working his way to the other side slowly. She shuddered. The heat grew stronger with each kiss, and her need for him was already maddening.

  “Are you sure this is what you want?” he asked, working his way to her collarbone before stopping inches above her breasts.

  She moaned and let her head fall back, threading her fingers through his thick, black hair. “Yes,” she breathed. “I’ve wanted this for so long.”

  His only response was a primal growl. He covered her nipple with his hot mouth, sucking until she was arching her back against him, then doing the same to her other nipple. By the time he was done, she was starting to lose any semblance of control, and she wondered how much more she could take.

  “If you make me wait any longer, I may die from need.”

  He chuckled. “Patience, sweet Ava.”

  “I never claimed to be a patient woman,” she laughed. She grabbed his jeans, working the button loose and pushing them down, then running one fingertip inside the waistband of his boxer briefs.

  He was wat
ching her, his wicked smile unable to hide his need. Still, he teased her. “I guess you weren’t playing. Alright, one quick one, but then it’s gentleman’s choice.”

  “If you say so,” she laughed, and before the words were out of her mouth, her hand was around his shaft, stroking him while she leaned in for another kiss.

  They finished undressing quickly, each of them driven by the lust they’d been holding back for so long. Ava pushed Eli back onto the bed, straddling his hips and sliding onto his erection with a moan of pleasure. She rode him hard and fast, her body flooding with heat moments before he sucked in a quick breath and pulled her to him for a deep kiss. Her orgasm was so powerful she clung to him until it passed, then rolled off him to lay in his arms. She was gasping for breath, heart racing while her muscles twitched. He had one arm on her hip, the other beneath her, cradling her against him, his fingers threaded through her wavy tendrils until she let out a huge sigh.

  “That was amazing,” she said, kissing him playfully.

  “I was right about you.”

  “How so?”

  “You are full of surprises.”

  She laughed, wrapping her arms around his shoulders and rolling onto her back, pulling him with her. She kissed him again, driving her hips against his, silently begging him to take her again. “How’s this for a surprise?”

  CHAPTER ONE

  Three months later

  Ava sat on the Adirondack chair on the front porch beside Zoey, watching as a man that looked far too young to drive effortlessly backed the behemoth moving truck up the driveway right to the front door. It was the second truck of the day.

  He was greeted by a woman in a chic pantsuit who signed at few documents, then handed him something and smiled.

  “Everything is all laid out on the floorplans,” she said, her voice carrying across the yard. “I’ll be back in a few hours, so I guess, just lock the door on your way out.” Then, she handed the man some money and walked briskly toward a shiny new BMW and sped away.