Grizzly Perfection_A Paranormal Shifter Menage Romance Read online

  She knew he was right. She felt their support already. Even last night when his mother came in to comfort her, Adriana had felt her love. At this point, she was continuing to argue her point on principle. Half of her wanted to see how far she could push him.

  Lunacy. The situation was so farfetched it had already turned into the opening scene for a made-for-television movie. “I’m also not moving in with my brother. He did just bind to his mate, and they definitely don’t need me living in their space.”

  “Two days. Give me two days.” Did he realize he didn’t ask? His words didn’t lift at the end in the form of a question. He was bossy. Damn alpha grizzly shifters.

  She swallowed. Half of her wanted to continue to dig her heels in and make sure he didn’t think he could steamroll her for the rest of her life. The other half thought it was hotter than hell that he cared so much about her safety. “Okay.” Don’t make me regret this.

  He blew out a breath. “Thank you.” Was he really worried? Or was he really that domineering?

  “Can we change the subject?” This was her first conversation with the man she was destined to spend her entire life with, and so far all they’d done was argue over a topic when she knew full well they were grappling over control, setting the tone for the rest of their lives. She may have only been twenty-three, but she’d taken psychology at her university. She recognized this disagreement for what it was.

  “Excellent idea. Tell me everything about you.” His voice was far more upbeat.

  Already she liked this side of him better. “Okay. How about the short version? Leave a bit of mystery.”

  “Gotta start somewhere.” Yes, she liked this Nolan much better.

  “Born and raised in Silvertip.”

  He interrupted her. “Youngest of the five children of Allister and Beth Arthur. Twenty-three. Thick brown hair I’m dying to run my hands through. Big brown eyes that seem to stare right at me when I look at them, even on social media. Computer science degree from Athabasca University. Worked at Mountain Peak Brewery with your pack and family until August. Decided your heart wasn’t in it. And then you came to Calgary to pursue a degree in art with an emphasis in fashion.”

  A huge grin spread across her face as she listened to his litany. “What do you need me to tell you? You know me better than I do. I guess we can hang up now.”

  He laughed, the sound reaching into her soul and making her stomach drop. She hadn’t met him in person, and already he made her sit up and take notice in a physical way.

  She was aroused.

  “I did my homework. What else did I have to do all night?”

  She chewed on her bottom lip. She hadn’t looked him up at all. But she had something better. She’d slept in his childhood room. The same room she was standing in now.

  His voice dipped and softened. “Now, tell me something no one else knows about you.”

  That drop in her stomach plummeted. A flush spread from her face down her chest. “Mmm.”

  “Come on. There has to be something.”

  She didn’t have many secrets. After all, she’d lived with her parents until two months ago. She hadn’t even gone away to school like her siblings and friends. She was super close to her mom and told her nearly everything. Except one thing.

  “Adriana?”

  Did she dare blurt out the thought on the tip of her tongue to a man she’d never met? It seemed like the perfect opportunity. If she was truly destined to be with him for life, she would have to tell him sooner or later. If it broke the ice and gave him a tiny piece of her soul, maybe it would be worth it.

  “Hon?”

  More stomach dropping. “I’m a virgin.”

  Silence.

  No. Not silence. Breathing. Short, sharp breaths. Panting. Like he’d been running for an hour.

  She shouldn’t have told him. She wished she could take it back, most especially because she wanted to see his face. This silence was deafening and made her squirm and regret her hasty decision. A knot formed in her throat, and she couldn’t swallow over it. Sweat beaded on her forehead and not from heat. Embarrassment and humiliation.

  Was he still on the line? No way in hell was she going to be the one to say the next word.

  “Adriana… Baby… My God. I’m so…”

  What?

  “Humbled.” He cleared his throat. His voice was cracking. “You took me by surprise.”

  “You asked me to tell you something no one else knows.” Did she sound defensive? She still felt uncomfortable with her reveal. She could kick herself.

  “I did. And… I wish I was there in the room with you.”

  “I’m in your room. I’ve been sleeping in your bed for two months.”

  He groaned. “Do you know what you’re doing to me?”

  What? She turned from the window, leaned against the wall, and eased down until she was sitting on the floor, her knees at her chin, her hair falling around her in a curtain. She had the urge to hide even though no one could see her.

  “Adriana?”

  “I…” She cleared her throat. “I can’t read you. I don’t know what you’re thinking.” That was the truth. And it was driving her crazy. “I don’t know what your tone means. I’m sorry I said anything. I feel stupid now.”

  “Oh, baby, don’t. I’m sorry I’m not right in front of you. I’m glad you told me. It means the world to me. I’m so turned on right now I can’t form coherent sentences. Please forgive me. I know I’m botching this.”

  He was botching this? She begged to differ. A tear fell down her face, maybe from emotional overload and lack of sleep. But also from embarrassment. “You must think I’m a freak.”

  “Not at all. Baby, that’s so…” Did he choke on his words a bit, too? They were still cracking. “Dammit.” The sudden harsh expletive made her flinch.

  She held her breath. Could she have made a bigger mess of this?

  “Okay.” He sounded calmer. “So.” One word sentences. “I’m.” What the hell? “Look.” His words were growing in strength, but they made no sense. He was totally flustered.

  Slowly she switched from horrified beyond belief to something far calmer. She could almost breathe.

  He blew out a long breath. She could picture him pacing. He was winded when he next spoke. “Wow. I didn’t expect to feel this powerfully about you.”

  Okay. That was a good thing. Right?

  “I thought I could hold you at arm’s length while I waited for this trial. I mean we haven’t even met. How hard could it be? I told myself a thousand times during the night it would be all right. As long as we didn’t meet, you would just be some elusive woman I would meet when this was over. A phantom. A mystery.”

  She slowly smiled as she listened to him ramble. He wasn’t nearly as demanding now that she’d shaken his world up a bit. Suddenly her ridiculous declaration didn’t seem like such a bad idea. Not if it brought Nolan to his knees. Flustered Nolan was a lot more palatable. Human. Well, shifter.

  Her heart rate increased. The chill she’d felt for twelve hours loosened its hold. She felt a stirring deep inside that was new to her. Foreign. He did this with his endearing rambling. He might have also started the process with his commands if she were perfectly honest. But this side of him squeezed her heart.

  He was truly honored and humbled.

  And he was still speaking, though she realized she might have missed some of his words in her reflection. “Today. Like now,” he stated firmly.

  She jerked her attention back to his words. Damn. She’d missed something important. “I’m sorry. What?”

  He chuckled. “I know it’s crazy, but I’ll figure something out.”

  “Figure what out? Nolan, I think you lost me.”

  “I’m going to send someone to get you.”

  “What? And take me where? I told you I was going to spend the day looking for an apartment. I wasn’t kidding. That’s still the plan—”

  “Adriana.” He stopped her mid-sentence
with one word.

  “Yes?”

  “I want you to come here.”

  “To the hotel?”

  “That’s what I’m saying. I’ll send someone to pick you up, someone I can trust. Someone who can keep you safe.”

  “But I thought you weren’t supposed to have any contact with your family or friends.”

  “Technically you aren’t family or friend. No one will know. I need to see you face to face.”

  “Okay.” She glanced around the room. The last thing she’d expected was to meet him today. She was suddenly extremely nervous. How weird would it be to meet him? And in his hotel room. Was she ready for that? Was he asking her to come there so he could sleep with her? Would he bind her to him today?

  So many questions raced through her mind, but she didn’t voice them.

  She thought she heard him snap his fingers. “I know the perfect person. Hopefully, he’s not working today. Can you be ready in ten minutes?”

  “Ten minutes?” Her voice squeaked. She pushed herself hastily to standing and rushed over to the mirror above his dresser. She hadn’t done much of anything to herself this morning. She’d showered, but she hadn’t expected to meet her life partner when she’d failed to fix her hair or put on much makeup. Ten minutes?

  He was silent for a beat or two while she switched to full-on panic mode.

  “Okay,” he continued, as if he’d been away from the phone. For all she knew, maybe he was. “His name is Reid. He’s going to pick you up.”

  “Reid? Who’s Reid?”

  “One of my best friends, who also happens to be a bodyguard. I just texted him. As luck would have it, he finished a job two days ago. He’s available, and he’s going to help us.”

  “A bodyguard?”

  “Don’t worry. That’s just who he is. Or what he does. Whatever. Nothing will happen to you in his care.”

  How had this day taken such a sharp right turn so fast? “Nolan, I’m not ready.”

  “Ready for what? To meet me?”

  “Yes. I mean no.” She shook her head, trying to find brain cells and gather them into coherency. “I mean I’m in jeans and a T-shirt. My hair’s a mess. I’m not wearing makeup. This is not how I want to meet you.” Her gaze darted around the room as if she could possibly find something to make this all better in seconds. There was no way in hell.

  “Adriana, I don’t care what you look like. I’ve seen hundreds of pics of you. You’re gorgeous. You don’t need makeup and fancy hair. Just come.”

  “I was cute last night. Why didn’t you come inside last night?”

  He chuckled. “Stop worrying. You’re perfect. Hang up and go answer the front door. Reid will be there any minute.”

  She inhaled long and slow and then jumped into first gear. “’K. Bye.” She ended the call, raced from the room, and slammed into Joselyn in the hallway.

  Joselyn grabbed her by the elbows to steady them both. “What’s wrong? What’s the rush?”

  Oleta stepped into the hall from the front room. She was wiping her hands on a kitchen towel.

  “Nolan is sending someone to pick me up. Like now. Like right now.” She raced into the hall bathroom and stared at the mirror. “Oh, God. I look awful.”

  Both women stepped in behind her, smiling. She could see them in the mirror.

  Oleta took the phone from her hand. “You’re fine. Perfect. Nolan isn’t a fussy guy. He wouldn’t even notice if you got all dressed up and primped for two hours. You’d look the same to him.”

  The doorbell rang.

  Her eyes widened. She was going to hyperventilate. For like the third time in twelve hours.

  Oleta patted her arm. “Why didn’t you tell me it was Reid? I didn’t realize he was in town.”

  Apparently, Reid was a close enough friend of Nolan’s that his mother knew him well. Male voices came from the front room. Stanton must have let him in.

  Adriana grabbed the side of the sink with both hands and closed her eyes, forcing herself to take deep breaths.

  Huge mistake. The biggest mistake of her life. She froze, head down, oxygen no longer her main concern.

  Oh. My. God. No. No no no no no. This could not be happening.

  She was going to faint.

  “You’re going to be fine.” Joselyn’s voice was filled with mirth. “He’s just your mate.”

  Adriana jerked her gaze up to meet Joselyn’s in the mirror. What did she mean by that?

  Joselyn frowned. “You okay? No reason to panic. Sounds like Nolan has it all worked out. Whoever Reid is, I’m sure he’s reliable and safe or Nolan wouldn’t have sent him.”

  Reid was anything but reliable or safe. Adriana knew that from the bathroom without seeing him.

  He might have been Nolan’s best friend and a bodyguard who could protect anyone from anything. But that’s not all he was.

  He was also her mate.

  Chapter Four

  Reid continued to nod at whatever Stanton was saying, hoping he wouldn’t be required to add to the conversation or comment because there was no way he could form words or even breathe. His mouth was dry. His heart was pounding. His hands were shaking. He stuffed them in his pockets to keep anyone from noticing how unhinged he was.

  What the hell was going on? He’d gotten a text from Nolan who asked him if he was free and begged him to please go pick up his mate and bring her to him.

  It was a Sunday. Reid had intended to spend the day vegetating in front of the television watching any sport he could find. He’d been on a lengthy assignment for a dignitary for two months. It had ended Friday night. Reid hadn’t recovered.

  And now this?

  He was so confused that his brain wouldn’t function. He’d hung up the phone with Nolan ten seconds ago as he approached the front door.

  His best friend. The one who called him and quickly explained his plight. He was in witness protection. His mate was at his parents’ home. Could Reid please pick her up and bring her to the hotel for a while?

  Something was seriously messed up with this situation. Either he was losing his mind or Fate was playing a cruel joke on him.

  He wanted to reach out to the woman in the hall bathroom and communicate with her, but at the moment he wasn’t sure he could do so without alerting the entire room to the insanity of this situation. He didn’t have enough faculties to properly block everyone else in order to concentrate solely on…what was her name?

  Seconds ticked by, but they seemed like hours. Was Stanton moving around in slow motion? What he needed was for the world to freeze. Come to a complete halt, just until he could make sense of his life and take a few cleansing breaths.

  He jerked out of his weird trance when he realized the woman he was there to pick up was approaching. When he spun around, he found her bottom lip pinched hard between her teeth and her huge brown eyes wide. She subtly shook her head.

  Was she getting the same weird message from Nature he was getting? Was she as shocked as him?

  It seemed that way.

  Thank God someone had vocabulary, because otherwise things would have gotten far more awkward superfast. Oleta closed the distance and wrapped her arms around him. “So good to see you.” She grasped his biceps next and turned to face the stunning woman with thick brown hair that hung in long waves down her back. Really long. He had the urge to twist his hand in it, pull her head back, and kiss the life out of her.

  He shook the image from his head and forced himself not to look directly at her, settling his gaze on the wall behind her instead as she stuffed her arms into the sleeves of her coat.

  His hands were still in his pockets. No way in hell could he touch her.

  What the absolute fuck? The Universe was tipped on its axis in a way that made him think he’s stepped from one dimension to another. This could not be happening.

  “Reid Terrance, this is Adriana Tarben. Adriana, Reid.”

  Stanton—God bless him—stepped past Reid and opened the front door. “Let the
m get out of here, Oleta. Addy doesn’t want to stand in the living room making pleasantries. Any second now Nolan is going to start shouting at us in our heads if we stall progress. I don’t want that kind of wrath,” he joked.

  Oleta laughed.

  There were two other people in the room Reid didn’t know. A man who looked a lot like Adriana. And that man’s mate.

  Reid turned around, pulled his hands from his pockets, and gripped the open door. “We’ll catch up later?” he said to Stanton. “I want to hear about your trip. I’ll call you.” If I’m still alive after your son gets his hands on me.

  “Sounds good.”

  Reid didn’t look back at Adriana as he rushed down the front steps toward his SUV. He didn’t need to. He could tell she was right behind him. And they wouldn’t even look funny to the four people watching them. After all, they were on a mission. To get Adriana to her mate ASAP.

  He rounded the car, not even bothering to open the passenger door for her. Normally, he would never be so unchivalrous. His mother would scold him for fifteen minutes if she saw his behavior. There was a good chance Oleta Osborn would chew him out the next time he saw her too. But for now, his actions were out of self-preservation.

  Get in the car. Start the car. Drive a safe distance away.

  Don’t look at her. Don’t breathe. Don’t say a word.

  Just drive.

  He repeated some form of that mantra over and over in his head, making it truth. He knew Adriana was in the car. He knew she had put her seat belt on somehow. He knew she had shut the door. He knew she was also not breathing any more than necessary.

  How he managed to follow his own chanted directions was a mystery. He remembered nothing when he thought back. But somehow, a few minutes later, he was a safe distance from the house. He pulled into a fast food parking lot outside the residential neighborhood, managed to steer the SUV into a spot, and shut off the engine.

  Thank God the windows were tinted so no one could see inside. The SUV was his baby. It was totally decked out with all the bells and whistles. It was also bulletproof. He used it on every mission. But it could not keep him safe today. The biggest danger was inside the SUV.