Bear Essentials Read online

  * * * * *

  He brought her more flowers. Roslyn laughed as she took another bouquet into her arms.

  “Enough flowers! The florist is going to think you are hitting on her.”

  Granger tossed his head back and laughed. His eyes sparkled when he opened them again. “Not a chance, she thinks I’m hooked and taken.”

  “Thank you, but you didn’t have to send them.”

  Granger stepped forward and caught her chin with one hand. All traces of amusement were gone as he looked into her eyes.

  “We skipped a few steps of courting yesterday. I wanted to make up for them, because I don’t want to wait and I’m not going to slow down.” His eyes were serious as they held hers. “You didn’t say no this morning.”

  He liked it too. She saw it reflected in his eyes as he held her chin steady.

  “So I decided to bombard you with flowers.” He released her jaw and shrugged. “Only because I couldn’t tell the world to piss off while I dragged you back to bed in order to cloud your judgment with sexual pleasure designed to bind you to me.”

  “I’m impressed.” She laughed at the scowl on his face. His finely tailored suit made her snicker again as she noticed how out of place it was in her warehouse.

  “You’d better be.” He glared at her amusement before picking up the head of the Wish Bear suit. He tossed it between his hands a few time before grinning past a fuzzy ear at her.

  “When’s the next appearance?”

  The look of anticipation on his face sobered her. Tears stung her eyes as she stared at the boyish glee shimmering from his gaze. He chuckled at her response, replacing the head on the work table.

  “What’s wrong, honey? Don’t you think I can appreciate you?” His amusement faded as he stared at her. “You opened my eyes, baby.”

  He captured her hand and pulled her into his embrace. “But I’m still a jerk because I won’t wait for any sort of dating time frame to pass. I want to drag you home right now because I too damn scared that some other guy will notice you. It isn’t romantic, but I swear I’ll kick the ass of any other man you let wear that bear suit. It’s mine.”

  “That doesn’t make any sense.” But it sure felt right. Her heart twisted into a knot of tension as she watched the way he looked at her.

  “Well, my mother swears that’s the way love is. You heard her yourself. My mom says fate is always right. Maybe Cupid got me in the back with one of his arrows.”

  He pressed a hard kiss against her lips to seal her response inside her mouth. Her hands locked behind his neck as she surrendered to the moment, letting her doubt dissipate. It felt perfect and perfection was a delicate thing. It was best not to mess with it by thinking too much.

  He broke off the kiss, looking as if it cost him a lot to rein in his desire. “What would you like to do tonight?”

  “I’m not very hungry.”

  “Thank God,” he answered with relief.

  “Do you play cards?”

  One dark eyebrow rose. “You like to gamble? We could take in a casino if you like.”

  She toyed with one of his buttons, pushing it through its hole to open his shirt and reveal the skin beneath. He made a soft sound of enjoyment as she stroked the bare skin she’d uncovered.

  “I was thinking something a little more intimate.”

  “Like what?”

  She leaned toward him, making sure she pressed up against his hardening cock. “Like strip poker.”

  He chuckled, the sound dark and full of promise. His embrace tightened for a fraction of a moment before he released her. He actually clicked his heels together and offered her a stiff bow.

  “I wouldn’t dream of disappointing you.”

  “Good.” She placed her hand into his and followed him toward his car. “Because about those steps of courting you think you’re going to skip…”

  He pouted at her but she shook her head refusing his plea for mercy. Something glittered in his eyes as he grinned.

  “As I said, I wouldn’t dream of disappointing you, Roslyn. Courting there shall be, and the bear suit is mine.”

  “It’s yours.”

  And she was his but it was still hard to believe he wanted to be hers. He closed the door and made his way around the sports car while she found herself feeling breathless.

  Yeah, Cupid had scored a hit on her too.

  * * * * *

  “Wish Bear!”

  Twenty preschoolers shouted with glee as Granger danced his furry feet into their midst. Some month later, he was still showing up to don the costume and parade his zany dance steps in front of adoring fans. Roslyn watched the baggy overalls jiggle as he shook his caboose to the delight of the children. There was no way to fake the zeal with which he performed. She followed every step with adoring eyes because she just couldn’t believe that he’d joined her crazy vision of life. Fate really was a creature of mystery. Roslyn was sure that she would never understand how she’d held his interest, but she was absolutely certain that he loved her.

  Who else would be her Wish Bear?

  “What have you done with my son?”

  Roslyn turned to find Valerie Webb standing in the doorway of the school with a visitor name tag stuck to her silk blouse.

  “I do believe you have found his father’s spirit.” She spoke softly as her eyes became glassy. “I was so worried he’d keep dating those fake women.”

  She cut a look over to Roslyn and gave her a wink. “Do make him work for it though. He’s had too many easy conquests.”

  Granger danced in a circle and Roslyn could see him trying to peer at them through the mesh covering of the bear suit mouth. His mother lifted her hand and waved to him.

  “He’s been making appearances for three months.”

  His mother winked at her. “So he said. But I just had to see it with my own eyes.” She aimed a serious look at Roslyn. “You found my son and I thought the business world had taken him forever.”

  Granger had turned to face them and wiggled his way toward them. He got down on one knee, to the delight of the children and covered his heart with his furry gloved hands.

  “Wish Bear is in love with you!” the children shouted with glee.

  Her cheeks turned red and she was sure she heard a very male chuckle coming from the open mouth of the costume before Granger got up and danced back through the crowd.

  “Are you going to marry me? You leave the choice of carpet color up to me and I think you might call it family unfriendly.”

  Setting the head of the bear suit aside, Roslyn gaped at Granger. Sweat slicked his hair back and glittered on his skin. He shrugged and grinned at her.

  “Guess that wasn’t very romantic either, but you can’t accuse me of having cold feet.”

  Twisting the top off a water bottle, she handed it over to him. A furry glove dropped onto a nearby table as he grabbed the water and placed it against his lips.

  “Actually, it was just perfect.”

  He choked on the water and lowered it. “Really?”

  Anticipation made his eyes glitter. “Yeah it was, because I’m not going to turn into the model of a businesswoman. The bottom line will never be my sole driving force.”

  “I’m going to hold you to that promise, you know.”

  A firm kiss landed on her lips before he shrugged out of the bear body. He winked at her before digging into his shirt pocket. There was a flash of a diamond as he held up a slim band.

  “I’m going to hold you to the promise of a lifetime and hopefully beyond.”

  He pushed the little ring onto her finger, grinning with glee as he did it. Roslyn felt her tears trickle down her cheeks as she shook her head. No, it didn’t make any sense and she liked it that way. Besides, maybe the best way to stop being strangers was to share a lifetime together.

  Fate certainly thought so.

  About Mary Wine

  I write to reassure myself that reality really is survivable. Between traffic jams and child
ren’s sporting schedules, there’s romance lurking for anyone with the imagination to find it.

  I spend my days making corsets and petticoats as a historical costumer. If you send me an invitation marked “formal dress”, you’d better give a date or I just might show up wearing my bustle. I love to read a good romance and, with the completion of my first novel, I discovered I’m addicted to writing these stories as well.

  Dream big or you might never get beyond your front yard.

  Mary welcomes comments from readers. You can find her website and email addresses on her author bio page at www.ellorascave.com.

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  Also by Mary Wine

  Alcandians 1: Alcandian Quest

  Alcandians 2: Alcandian Rage

  Alcandians 3: Alcandian Soul

  Beyond Boundaries

  Beyond Lust

  Dream: Paying Up

  Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales from the Temple III anthology

  Scarlet Stockings

  Print books by Mary Wine

  Alcandians 1: Alcandian Quest

  Alcandians 2: Alcandian Rage

  Alcandians 3: Alcandian Soul

  Beyond Boundaries

  Ellora’s Cavemen: Tales from the Temple III anthology

  Ellora’s Cave Publishing

  www.ellorascave.com

  Bear Essentials

  ISBN 9781419939587

  ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

  Bear Essentials Copyright © 2013 Mary Wine

  Edited by Briana St. James

  Cover design by Mina Carter

  Photos: Vasilchenko Nikita/Shutterstock.com and Chuwit Srisomwong/123rf.com

  Electronic book publication February 2013

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