Blind Date With A Bear (A BBW Paranormal Romance) Read Free Page A

strong puff of wind would blow them away. Makes a person wish they lived in the Windy City.”
    It took him a moment before her dry sense of humor struck home and he laughed.
    She fingered the pattern on the tablecloth and he wondered if she was nervous. He breathed deeply. She was so new to him, he couldn’t read her scent yet. Not yet anyway.
    “I’ve had shifter friends before.”
    “Have you ever had a shifter boyfriend?” He had to ask. He knew women compared a man to every man they’d ever slept with. Not that he believed he’d have any problem wiping away the memory of some other bastard’s touch. It was always good to know what you were up against. Bear shifters were naturally better lovers than any of the other shifter breeds, and eons ahead of human males.
    The real implications of having a human for a mate swept over him, causing him to sweat. A mate for a bear shifter. What was he going to do? He wanted her. His bear wanted her. He liked his sex hard and fast and as frequently as possible. Yes, he was a considerate lover, making sure the female found as much satisfaction as he did. Again, the troubling thought popped into his mind. Paige was human. A fragile, beautiful human.
    Who smelled so good. He leaned forward, focusing on her lips, wondering if she would taste as good as she smelled. Berries. And cream. Cream from her pussy—
    “No.” She shook her head answering the question he’d almost forgotten he’d asked. She pushed a strand of her long, brown hair behind her small ear. The perfectly formed shell and plump lobe were just right for nibbling.
    “I haven’t had many boyfriends.”
    She said it without censure or bitterness. She simply stated a fact.
    The waiter came with the drinks they had left at the bar, ready to take their dinner order.
    Quinn nodded for her to go first, frowning when she asked for the smallest steak they had and a house salad for the side. He knew she was hungry, he’d heard her stomach growl, not once, but twice, since they’d been seated. He started to open his mouth, demanding she order something else. He closed it quickly. He had to remember she was human, not a bear sow like his mother and sisters who knew they needed to eat to keep up their strength. Instead, he placed his own order of two medium rare steaks, two baked potatoes, and a double order of green beans. He also ordered two appetizers and demanded hot, fresh-out-of-the-oven yeast rolls be delivered immediately. If she wouldn’t order what she needed, he most certainly would. It was his job to provide for her.
    “I, um, guess you’re hungry.”
    “I suppose I am.” The look in his eyes left her in no doubt exactly what he hungered for.
    Her.
    He felt his bear trying to override the man. He knew this struggle wouldn’t be over until she was claimed. She is ours his bear reminded him with a not so gentle swipe of a heavy paw across his insides. Ours . Quinn rubbed his chest as if the bear had caused him physical pain. Every minute he was aware of his animal, the second presence in his soul. The bear usually made very few demands. If he didn’t find time to shift and spend some time in the woods, the animal let him know and he became a bear to live with according to his family. Other than that, the bear was content.
    Unless Quinn went too long between women. Quinn had left his parents’ den as soon as he’d turned eighteen. His mother had protested, but his father had convinced her it was for the best. He knew a young, male bear needed to fuck as much as he needed to shift.
    He had noticed an increasing restlessness in his animal over the last several years as his sisters had found their mates and started their own household. Tonight the bear was alert and active, fiercely seeking to communicate with the man. To convey the animal’s needs. Which happened to mirror the man’s needs. A need for Paige.
    The bread came and he didn’t give her a chance to protest that she wasn’t hungry. He tore