Stripe Search: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance (Furocious Lust Shorts Book 5) (4 page)

EIGHT

Gabby knocked on Vanessa’s door and waited, holding a bakery box housing a chocolate cake so famous that people lined up for it. She’d been delayed by Slade and his insatiable need for sex. Not that she minded. Okay, she probably encouraged him more than anything. Still, it had made her late for dinner with Vanessa.

Vanessa opened the door with a wide grin. “I know what you did last night.”

Gabby blinked her eyes wide. “What?”

Vanessa laughed and motioned her inside. “I’m kidding. I finally found out that it was Slade who went to watch you dance last night. Dad made a point of telling me to make sure nobody went into that room with you guys.”

Heat crawled up Gabby’s face. She wasn’t used to people joking with her like that. Most that saw her dancing didn’t realize she still had the shyness that she’d grown up with as a big girl.

“Aw, don’t be embarrassed,” Vanessa said and led her into the kitchen. “He likes you. You like him. The rest isn’t a big deal.”

Gabby laughed and shook her head. “You sound like Charlie. Didn’t he say those same words to one of the other girls?”

“Sadly, yes. My dad’s personality is rubbing off on me.” Vanessa eyed the bakery box with a widening grin. “Want me to take that?”

“Oh! Yes. Please. I wasn’t sure what you had planned for dinner, but cake goes with everything, so that’s what I got.”

“Smart woman. And that has nothing to do with the fact that I’m in love with cake. And chocolate.” She put the box on the kitchen table and rushed to the stove. “I hope you like chili, rice, and salad.”

“Oh…” Gabby sighed. “That sounds really good. It smells delicious. It’s awesome someone knows how to cook.”

“You can’t cook?” Vanessa asked, after she’d put the lids back on the pots.

“I can eat, does that count?” She laughed. “No. Though to be fair, I haven’t really tried to learn. It’s just been one of those things I haven’t really had time for.”

Vanessa brought a pitcher of iced tea to the table. She’d already put some glasses there for them. “You’re always so worried about your brother.”

Gabby pursed her lips and nodded. “Yes. He’s been my responsibility since my parents died. I‘ve been like a second mother to him.”

“But you’re not his mother,” Vanessa said, patting Gabby’s hand. “You’re just his older sister. You are allowed to be happy and have a life. He’s a grown man. What he does at this point isn’t something you can control.”

She knew that. Deep down she did, but how could she turn her back on her only family? She’d never be able to live with herself if she didn’t try to help him. He needed her. She wouldn’t stop herself from having a life though. That was a new promise she’d made to herself the previous night. It was time to do whatever she needed to be happy.

“You seem a lot more quiet than most of the other dancers, which surprises me because you dance so wonderfully.”

She smiled and shrugged. “It took a long time for me to get comfortable with the dancing. I think one of the things I enjoy is that Charlie’s allows us to be who we are. Have the bodies we have and dance.”

“Hell, woman. Have you seen you dance? You’re like a snake. No bones. None!” Vanessa exclaimed.

“I have bones. Believe me. I started dancing when I was in school, mainly to try and lose some weight. It didn’t really help, but that’s okay, because my dance teacher loved to tell me everyone is beautiful in their own way.”

“That’s the truth.” Vanessa nodded. “And you, my friend, are gorgeous. I’m particularly fond of your gorgeous hair with those amazing highlights.”

“Thank you.”

“Do you feel awkward dancing in a curvy-women club? Is that why you’re so shy?”

She shook her head and did a circle around the rim of her glass with a finger. “I’ve always been shy. I liked my body, but a lot of people didn’t. They always had something to say about the fat girl. So after making myself invisible—well, as much as I could, anyway—I later on realized that I was fine as I was. That I didn’t need to hide myself.” She bit her lip and scrunched her nose. “The other kids, they were the ones who needed to learn to accept that not everyone had the same body. I didn’t mind being big. I felt I had a nice body, just bigger than a few women. Sure, I have some trouble areas like my arms or my belly, and even my thighs, but overall, I’m a happy, big girl.”

“Good, I’m glad to hear that. We need more happy, curvy women in this world. Love your body, and fuck those who don’t.”

Gabby giggled and lifted the tea to her lips, took a sip, and set it down again. “I’ll never be small, and I’m okay with that. It’s just been hard finding someone who’ll be okay with it along with me.”

“Ah, see that’s the beauty of shifter males. They love them some curves.”

“What about you?” she asked Vanessa. “How are you enjoying being a shifter’s woman?”

“Mate,” Vanessa corrected with a grin. “It’s great. The sex is amazing. He treats me like a fucking goddess. Not to mention his parents are ecstatic he finally found someone. I can’t say I’m upset he waited this long, since I got him myself.” She poured the iced tea and continued. “I don’t know how things are looking between you and Slade, but I’ll tell you this, if he wants you, then he really wants you. There’s no ifs, ands, or buts. He will not want another woman after you. It will only be you.”

It was so refreshing to hear of a man who wouldn’t just want some ass and move on. As much as she questioned what the hell she was doing with a shifter, she didn’t want to reject how he made her feel. Boy did he make her feel. Her insides were all over the place from how nervous and excited she got from a single look…or when he growled or slid his hand between her legs and did things that made her forget her own name.

Was that enough? Great sex and chemistry? She didn’t know. There were other things to factor in, like the butterflies she felt in her chest when he smiled or kissed her so softly she was left breathless. His making breakfast and bringing it to bed was not going to be forgotten any time soon. Deciding what to do was proving a lot more complicated than just sleeping with him—that had been a no brainer. Apparently all she needed was a sexy shifter to smile, and she’d drop her panties like they were on fire.

NINE

Slade glanced at his watch for the fifth time in ten minutes.

“Looking at it won’t make this car move faster,” his father said.

“I already know that, dad.”

“Then stop doing that, because you’re making me nervous. I keep thinking I forgot something important, like your mother’s birthday or our anniversary. Not that it’s ever happened, but if it did I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Sorry, dad.” He said, curling his hands into fists in his lap and glancing out the limo window. Traffic was backed up due to an accident. They’d been gone from the office all day in meetings, and now all he wanted was to go back and see Gabriella, to give her a hug and fill his lungs with her scent.

He glanced at his father and caught the smile on his dad’s face. “What are you so happy about?”

“You. Cash. You make your mother happy. Finding your mates and giving her those grandbabies she wants so bad.”

He snorted and shook his head. “She wants?”

“Well, it’s certainly not me. I am not the one needing to bounce children on my knee,” he stuttered.

“Right, Dad. It’s all Mom.”

“Forget your mother. Tell me how are things with Gabriella. I see how you two look at each other in the office. You know she’s the one.”

He couldn’t deny it. She was. Having her near all day appeased his tiger but at the same time tortured him. “She’s the one.”

“Don’t waste time, son,” his father said, grasping his arm. “Life is too short. We never know when love will be taken away.” Vincent gave a sad sigh. “Family is everything.”

His father was right. He needed to come clean to Gabriella about what he wanted with her. More than that, he had to explain to her that her life was never going to be the same once they mated. There was no divorce. No cheating.

Nothing but the two of them forever.

* * *

Slade rushed into his office and caught Gabriella standing by her desk. “Want to go out for dinner?”

Her shoulders slumped, and she sighed. “Tonight is my night off at Charlie’s. I was going to go by my niece’s house and bring her mother some money for groceries, but we can go somewhere after if you’d like?”

He raised his brows. “You want me to come along on your trip?”

She laughed. “I wouldn’t suggest it if that’s not what I wanted. Come on, little Jill is waiting on me to finally bring the doll I got her a few weeks ago. I hadn’t been able to bring it to her.”

He dropped some files on her desk. “Leave those here. Let’s take my car.”

“I drove in,” she said, powering down her computer and opening a drawer to pull out a handbag, then a second to get a gift bag. “What about my car?”

“I’ll have one of the guys take it to your place. It’s probably easier if we go in the same car,” he exaggerated. What he really didn’t want was for her to be in one vehicle and him in another, but saying that out loud would make him sound like a teenager in love for the first time.

“Okay. I’ll come with you.”

Hell, yes!

The drive was quiet until his curiosity got the best of him. “What got you into dancing?”

She gave him a side smile before replying. “Wow. Not even a warm-up, huh?”

“Oh, I’m sorry. How was your day?”

She laughed, the sound warmed him from the inside and made the tiger inside purr with the delight. “Sort of boring, really. I expected you to be in the office, trying to cop a feel or something.”

He shook his head, a smile on his lips. “Sorry to have disappointed you. I’ll make sure to meet your expectations tomorrow.”

“All right… Dancing. All through my childhood I was a shy wallflower. My mom and dad tried to raise us to be responsible from an early age, so I was always more adult than kid.” She said, her gaze trained on the road ahead. “My brother was always the one getting into some sort of trouble, so I tried to make sure I didn’t bring my parents any more headaches. Being in the lower middle class meant they lived from paycheck to paycheck. There were no real vacations or money for any extras.” She glanced at him and grinned. “Until one day I was in school and my teacher sent me to run a note to the dance instructor.”

He loved the way her face lit up at the memory of the dance instructor. “You liked her?”

“I caught her in the middle of a lesson. She was so...amazing. You see, she was a big woman. But she moved with so much grace. I was floored by how much I wanted to move that way.”

“So what happened?”

“I was a big girl then...still am. And my parents didn’t discuss my weight with me, other than to tell me I needed to do more to try and lose the weight. The other kids in school didn’t notice me, because I was the unpopular, shy, fat girl. I didn’t have friends. I was alone.” She shook her head. “No, I was okay with that. Don’t feel bad.”

He couldn’t not feel bad. He imagined the young version of Gabriella feeling lonely, and it did something to him nothing ever had. It tore him up thinking of her having ever felt alone.

“Anyway, I continued passing by the dance classes, just to stop and watch for little bits at a time. Then one day Ms. Glenda invited me inside. She asked me why I wasn’t in her class.”

“You already knew you wanted to dance.”

She nodded. “I’d known from the first day. I think she saw it in my face. I told her my parents said I needed to take classes that would help me get a job in the future, and dance wouldn’t do that. So instead of messing with my school schedule, she contacted my parents and suggested I stay after school and take a new fitness routine she was going to teach.”

“Ah, smart woman,” he laughed.

“Very. It ended up being just me and her. She taught me the basics of ballet, mambo, street, hip-hop and pretty much every dance out there. We had so much fun. Just dancing. Me learning how to move my body and control it. Did I lose weight? A little, which pacified my parents into letting me stay for the next two years.” She cleared her throat, and the smile slipped off her face. “Then when I graduated high school, I continued the classes, but mixed things up with other things like pole dancing and belly dancing. By then, my brother was getting into all kinds of trouble, and so I started trying to control him more and had less time for myself.”

“When did you become his caretaker?”

There was a moment of silence. He’d driven past the hotels and reached a not-so-nice area in Vegas, north of the hustle and bustle of the strip but still poverty stricken. Unlike the nicer section where she lived, this was where the achingly poor lived.

“I lived in this area when I was a kid. Not far from where Jill and Janie are now. It reminds me every time I come of how much I’ve done to try and better myself. Sometimes, it doesn’t feel like enough.” She sighed and glanced at the street. “My parents died when I was in college. I tried to be Wonder Woman at first: going to school and working, but with Joel, you can’t do that. He needed me to be on his ass all the time.” She sighed. “It got to the point I got fired from work for constantly having to go searching for him in the slums. Then I left school. I went to work at Charlie’s and haven’t looked back. That’s where my dancing helped me.”

So many things ran through his mind. How brave and amazing she was to stop her life for her brother when he clearly didn’t give her the respect she deserved. “Was it weird? Dancing for men in those small outfits?”

She cocked her head to the side. Her lips turned up in a smile. “At first, yes. I had to be broken in.” She laughed and shook her head. “I danced for the employees for a few weeks. Got used to the eyes looking me over and people making comments. But Charlie is great. He made sure I knew there was going to be no touching and that I would never get naked. Some of the girls have private events they do and will take it all off for more money, but I just can’t. As it is, I’m lucky I know my routine so well I can do it with my eyes closed.” She bit her lip and inhaled deep before letting it out slowly. “I fantasize I’m just dancing for myself when I dance. The crowd disappears, and there’s just me and the music.”

His gut clenched as he watched the multitude of emotions cross her face: disappointment, sadness, and longing. “Do you ever have issues with clients?”

“Rarely. Charlie will send me out with a guard any time we have someone waiting around too long after a show. Or when they act like I’m their girlfriend even though they don’t know my real name.”

The tiger beat at his muscles, wanting out. He didn’t like her words. She was his. Only his. There was no other man that could touch her, that could claim her. Her words filled him with the need to protect her, to make sure that she knew she didn’t have to do anything else alone. He was there for her now. He’d take all the burden of her problems and gladly fix things. Her happiness and peace would be payment enough for him.