Bear West: BBW Bear Shifter Mail Order Bride Romance (3 page)

“Should we go inside, or do you want to stay out here until it gets dark?” Diego asked. His voice was flat, but when she turned to him, suddenly shy, she caught a gleam of amusement in his eyes that made her grin. She had an impulse to jump, to spin, to shout out loud – after all, there was no one to see. Well, except for Diego. But she had the feeling that he wouldn’t judge her. He might even join in.

Instead of doing anything so childish, she ran up to him and kissed him. She’d intended only to kiss his cheek, but at the last moment she changed her mind and aimed for his mouth. He was so much taller than her that she had to stand on her toes to reach him, but after a startled gasp Diego’s arms came around her waist, supporting her and pulling her closer.

What had started as a friendly peck quickly became deeper and hotter. Carla felt Diego’s tongue slide against her lips, and after a quick decision, she opened her mouth to let him in. He was so gentle, but she could feel the size of his muscles under her hands, and it was intoxicating, to feel all that power and strength restrained for her sake.

Carla slowly sank back down onto her feet, breaking the kiss. She was breathing hard, and all she could do was stare up at Diego.

He has the most wonderful eyes
, she thought.
Brown and amber, like buckwheat honey, or antique wood, or an expensive fur coat. I could stare into his eyes for hours
.

When had she gotten so romantic? And about a man she’d only just met! But she couldn’t deny the attraction she felt. She’d never been this head-over-heels for any of her old boyfriends.

Diego took his hands off her waist and cleared his throat. “Well, uh, I guess we should go inside.”

Carla nodded, too dazed to do anything more, and followed him to the front door. He opened it without needing to unlock it, and she raised an eyebrow. He caught her look and spread his arms. “Who’s going to break in out here?”

She had to admit that he had a point. She studied the house while he went back to the truck to bring in her luggage. She wasn’t used to being treated so well. How had she found a man who was both handsome and chivalrous? Ranch Romeos must be magic.

The house was clearly new, and had probably been built within the last year. It was small, though it had more than enough room for two people. Once she’d stepped inside, it quickly became very obvious that Diego really hadn’t lived here for long. There was no furniture except for what was absolutely necessary: a refrigerator, a table with only two chairs, and (she peeked through an open door) a bed. There was no art on the walls, no curtains on the windows, and a few of the rooms hadn’t even been painted yet.

It was a nice house, but it wasn’t a home. Not yet. Carla let herself imagine what she would do with the place, after she and Diego agreed that she’d definitely be staying. She’d paint the kitchen walls pale blue – a cool color to help with the heat of cooking – and put in tiles on the counter and behind the sink. The living room would be a dark green, the color of the tall trees she’d seen on the drive here; pinyon pines, Diego had called them.

And the bedroom... what would she do with that? Heat rose in her cheeks as she thought about it, and she couldn’t keep herself from glancing over her shoulder at Diego. He was watching her without a word, but from his expression, he felt the same urgent passion that she did.

Carla pressed her legs together to quiet the throbbing between her thighs. “It’s a nice place.”

“I’m glad you like it.”

“It looks new. Did you build it?”

“Not personally, though I lent a hand with the construction. The previous owners didn’t actually live on their land. They were from a city on the coast – I can’t remember which. Seattle, maybe, or Portland.” Diego took a few steps closer to her, and reached out and took her hand. His thumb rubbed across the back of her hand, and she wanted to take that thumb and put it in her mouth, suck hard on it.

He tugged on her hand, pulling her with him – but, to her disappointment, toward the kitchen instead of the bedroom.

She shook her head.
Get ahold of yourself, Carla!
, she thought, and forced herself to pay attention to what Diego was saying.

“You must be hungry, after that long flight. Can I cook you something?”

Carla took a seat at the table and stopped herself from saying what she most wanted had nothing to do with food. Sure, she was attracted to Diego, but she needed to get to know him better before she jumped into bed with him. “That’s a good idea,” she said. “I’d appreciate it.”

Diego opened the refrigerator and examined its contents with a frown. “I forgot to pick up groceries. I’m sorry that I don’t have much to offer you – ”

“Whatever you have is fine!” Carla didn’t want him to think that she was high-maintenance. This meal was sort of like their first date after all, even if the knowledge that they’d already agreed to marry was lurking in the back of her mind – and surely Diego’s too. She should try harder to make a good impression. “I’m not a picky eater.”

“How do you feel about breakfast for dinner?” Diego asked, coming up with a carton of eggs in one hand and a loaf of bread in the other.

Carla smiled. “That sounds wonderful.”

Diego wouldn’t let her help him cook, but insisted that she stay in her seat. They talked while he whisked the eggs and toasted the bread, then flipped open cabinets and yanked out drawers to find plates and utensils, butter, jam, salt, and cheese. She’d expected only fried eggs, or maybe scrambled, but when he slid her plate to her across the table, she instead found a gorgeous-looking french omelet.

Diego noticed her look of surprise and grinned, one corner of his mouth turning up in a boyishly handsome expression. “Ain’t what you thought a country boy like me could make?”

“I – oh, no – it’s just – ” Carla looked down to hide her embarrassment. The omelet was a creamy pale yellow, sprinkled with some green herb she didn’t recognize. She picked up her fork and knife to cut off a bite, and a soft white cheese oozed out of the slice. “
I
don’t even know how to cook like this! It looks amazing.”

“It tastes even better,” Diego said. “Go on, start eating. Don’t wait for me.”

Carla was glad that he’d given her permission, because she wasn’t sure how long she could have resisted the delicious smells rising off her plate. She placed the first bite in her mouth while Diego dished up his own serving, then sat in the only other chair. Carla’s eyes fell closed to focus on the tastes. Rich butter, tart goat cheese, the grassy hint of the herbs... the whole thing was light and airy and melted in her mouth, and she melted with it, sinking into her chair.

“Here, have this with it,” Diego said. She opened her eyes again to find him holding out a piece of toast, thickly spread with a dark red jam. “They go better together.”

After that omelet, she was willing to eat anything he offered, so Carla grabbed it and took a big bite without even asking what it was. The bread was thick, obviously from a bakery instead of mass-produced, but it was the jam that made her groan in pleasure. The flavor was intense, the perfect contrast to the mildness of the omelet, and was sweet and sharp and full of tiny seeds that crunched between her teeth.

“Oh my god,” she said. “This is incredible!”

“Wild strawberry jam. My neighbors gave it to me as a housewarming gift, but it’s so good I’m gonna have to find a way to get more from them.”

“You absolutely have to do that,” Carla agreed. “I want to eat this every day for the rest of my life.”

“I’d like to watch that,” Diego said with a shy smile. Carla swallowed, realizing that she’d been stuffing her face and talking with her mouth full – not at all the sort of first date manners she should have shown. It didn’t look like Diego minded though; he was leaning in toward her, his own dinner forgotten in front of him. He reached out and brushed away a drop of jam from the corner of her mouth. Carla blushed, but then he licked his thumb clean, and the heat in her face was for an entirely different reason.

They made small talk while they ate the rest of the food, but Carla had a hard time keeping her mind on the conversation. It didn’t matter anyway; the real conversation was the one going on without words, the one between their bodies, as their eyes locked and they slowly moved closer and closer together. All of Carla’s nervousness was entirely forgotten.

She’d been so uncertain of if she was doing the right thing, leaving the city she knew for a man she’d never met, agreeing to marry him based on a few emails – but now that she was here, she couldn’t imagine ever leaving again. She felt more comfortable with him than with people she’d known for years.

She couldn’t help thinking about the bedroom that was just a few feet away, and if he would want to sleep with her tonight. He might want to wait until they’d spent more time together, but she felt like she might burst into flames if Diego didn’t touch her soon.

Finally the meal was done and Diego stood to take the plates to the sink. When he turned back to face her, the air between them felt charged with tension and desire, too much energy in too small of a space. Carla’s mouth felt dry, and she licked her lips. Instantly Diego’s gaze dropped, focused like a laser on her mouth.

“Oh,” Carla said, unable to hold herself back any longer. “Well, I guess we should talk about how we want to move forward....”

Diego stepped forward and she stood, lifted her hands and set them on his arms. She could feel the hardness of his biceps even through his shirt, the muscles solid as a rock. She ached to know what he looked like without his clothes on. They were standing far too close for a normal conversation, but she couldn’t bear to step back.

“If you don’t want to do anything tonight, I understand. I’m willing to wait for as long as you want. But I think that you should know how I feel. Carla, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen. It’s been a struggle to keep my hands off of you. I want to touch you, to kiss you, to make love to you.... I
want
you.”

He lowered his head to hers so slowly that each inch was an exquisite, agonizing torture. Finally their lips met, but it was only a brief, closed-mouth kiss, just a brush of his lips over hers. He drew back to speak again. “Tell me what you want.”

Her heart was beating so fast that she felt dizzy. This close to him, she could smell Diego; he smelled of cedar and juniper, leather and some musky scent she couldn’t name. It was wild and masculine and went straight to her core. Her hold on his arms tightened, and she moved closer to him, so that her breasts brushed against his chest.

“I want you too,” she heard herself say. She laughed, her desire making her feel slightly light-headed and off-balance. “That’s what I came here for, isn’t it? We should find out if we’re compatible in the bedroom.”

“I have no doubt of that,” Diego said, and then yanked her to him and claimed her mouth in a kiss. This kiss was much deeper than their first one; it was a searing, blazing kiss that overwhelmed all her other senses. His arms slipped around her waist, and he actually picked her up as though she weighed nothing, then pressed her into the wall behind her without breaking their kiss.

Carla gasped into his open mouth with surprise and pleasure, and clung to him. She was more turned on than she had ever been. She felt like she might actually die if they didn’t have sex, as though she needed him just as fundamentally and bone-deep as she needed oxygen.

She grabbed his shirt and pulled it out of his jeans and then over his head, then ran her hands admiringly up and down his back. She felt his muscles move beneath his warm skin, like corded metal; he had such a big, strong body, like none of her previous boyfriends. Diego shifted his mouth, kissing down her jaw and neck, then paused to suck on her earlobe. It sent shivery tingles of pleasure down her spine, and Carla felt herself growing wet.

Diego took a step away, letting her slide back down to the floor, and she blinked up at him, feeling confused and strangely abandoned. All the places where they’d been pressed together seemed cold.

“I don’t want our first time to be up against a wall,” he said. His voice was deep and rough with desire, and the knowledge that
she
had been the one to do that to him gave her a thrill of power and lust. “Let me take you to bed.”

She nodded, and Diego scooped her up in his arms. Carla squeaked in surprise; no one had picked her up since she was a kid. Diego barely even seemed to notice her weight, though she was very aware of the strong, solid wall of his chest against her cheek, and the thick, muscled arms beneath her shoulders and thighs. She looked up at him; his black hair was tousled from where she’d run her fingers through it, and his eyes were hot with passion as he gazed back at her. She couldn’t suppress the smile that bubbled up from pure happiness.

Diego walked into the bedroom and laid her gently down on the bed, then proceeded to undress her from head to toe. As he pulled off each piece of clothing, he kissed the newly revealed skin, making her feel worshipped. When she was entirely naked, he sat back on his heels and just looked at her.

Carla started to cover herself with her hands, but he reached out to stop her. “You’re beautiful.”

She frowned. “You don’t need to flatter me. I know what I look like. I’m too fat.”

Diego’s eyebrows drew down in an angry look. “You’re not. You’re perfect.” He kneeled over her, running his hands down her sides. “I like a woman with curves. I want an ass that I can hold on to – ” He demonstrated what he meant by sliding a hand beneath her and digging his fingers into her flesh. Carla arched her back, overwhelmed with the sensation of his big hand covering her, his palm rough with calluses and hot against her skin.

“And I want a generous pair of breasts.” He put his other hand on her left breast, rubbing his thumb against her nipple. It hardened at his touch, and Carla moaned. Diego’s eyes darkened in response, and he bent his head over her, his tongue finding her right nipple. He licked it until she was squirming, then took it in his mouth and sucked hard, making her cry out. Waves of pleasure were washing through her, but she still wanted more.