Bear Hearted: BBW Paranormal Shifter Romance (8 page)

He thought his life was over when he collapsed at the golf course, but it was only the beginning.

The End

About the Author

Ava Hunt was born in the mountains of Southwest Virginia, where stories of the mysterious and unknown echo among the hollows and quiet ridges. She lived out her later teen years in Georgia, where the summers are long and slow and the nights are sultry and hot.

Now living in the Southeast, she pens stories of paranormal romance, infused with plenty of real life mysteries and steamy, scintillating sex. She’s particularly fond of gruff, growly bear shifters and the women who tame their hearts. While most of her tales have happy, joyous, romantic endings, sometimes there’s an element of mystery left, some unsolved riddle – much like life.

When she’s not writing, Ava spends her time walking through the forest, or lying under the skies at night, staring into the starry expanse, thinking about her next bear shifter hero…

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Chapter One of "Boxer Bear" by Ava Hunt

              The plane ride to Vegas was long and more annoying than Gretchen Earnest thought it was worth. She had dealt with a crying baby nearly the entire time. If that weren't bad enough, the flight had been delayed.  All she wanted was a weekend to get away, lose control, and be someone completely different before she had to go back to her life. The aggravations made her want to hit the bar as soon as she got there but she had to check into her hotel first.

              “I wonder what kind of drinks they have there.” Gretchen thought, envisioning the bar at the hotel, the possibility of getting drunk there so she didn’t have far to go to get to her bed. “Ugh… this is supposed to be a stress reliever and so far it’s just been more stress."

              She'd worked mounds of overtime to afford the weekend away, and purchased the tickets the day after her boyfriend broke up with her. "Unable to unwind" he'd mentioned in the text.
The text
. Who breaks up with a person over a text message?

              Gretchen gritted her teeth as the flight attendant finally walked out and started helping people out of their seats. She sighed, feeling relieved that she was finally getting off the plane, but as fate would have it she found herself in line right in front of the woman with the crying baby.

              “Ugh… five more minutes… just
five
more minutes and I'll show Reggie who can unwind.” Gretchen thought as she gripped her purse.

              She walked down the aisle and smiled a fake grin at the flight attendant as she walked into the terminal. She walked up to the luggage rack and waited for her bag to come through. For being a fairly girly girl in day to day life, she actually didn’t pack very much when she went on trips. Extra clothes and the typical bathroom stuff was all she ever grabbed. She used to pack
bags
full of stuff, but had since found that she could use the spare room for things she found while she was out traveling the world.

              She felt relieved as she hauled her carry on down the airport terminal's path and headed for the exit. As she got outside she found a line of taxis just waiting for passengers and flagged the next one in the queue.

              “Where to, Miss?” The cabbie asked as Gretchen got into the cab.

              “Uh… the Plaza Hotel please.” She replied after trying to decide between luxury and frugality.
Screw frugality
, she thought,
I'm here to unwind, relax, and get laid in style.

              “Alright, we’ll be there shortly, miss.” The cabbie replied.

              “I stayed at the Palazzo last time I was in Vegas but it’s expensive.” Gretchen said, trying to have a casual conversation with the cab driver.

              “Oh yeah? I’ve never stayed there. How pricey is it?” He replied as he drove them out of the airport.

              “It’s like three hundred and fifty bucks a night.” Gretchen said as she looked out the window.

              “The Plaza’s a nice hotel. I’ve stayed there.” The cabbie said, “Wife threw me out one time and I had just enough to stay the night there. At least the TV got more channels than the one we have at home.”

              “I’m thinking about going to the casino part of the Plaza. Hopefully they’ve got some good drinks there, too.” Gretchen said, watching the city pass by quickly as they sped down the road.

              “I suck at gambling.” The cabbie replied as he turned a corner. “The Plaza’s not too far away from here. We’ll be there in just a moment.”

              Gretchen was glad to have finally gotten to the hotel and even gladder that she had called ahead and reserved a room. It had been too long since she just got to relax and not stress out over work. She was a cook, but had dreams of becoming a chef. There was quite the difference between being a cook and being a chef, as everyone around her was sure to point out. Even her mother was always asking when she was getting promoted. She had often overheard people ask what the difference was and most times answered with the same thing,
talent
.

              “Thanks.” Gretchen said before paying the cab driver and climbing out of the car.

              She walked into the Plaza hotel, looking up at its huge red sign hanging off the very top of the hotel before she went into the lobby itself and checked in. “I have a room reserved for a Gretchen Earnest.”

              “Ah, yes. It’s right here and thank you for choosing the Plaza. Enjoy your stay.” The lobby attendant said with a smile on their face as they waved her to the section of the hotel where her room was located after handing her the key.

              As she walked off she thought about how life would be as a lobby attendant. It really was easy money to get paid to stand around and check people into the hotel everyday, but it would bore her to death. She liked things that were challenging, like food. Some foods could kill people if they’re not cooked properly. Other items didn't taste that great by themselves but if added with certain other foods and spices they were delicious. A tomato came to mind when she thought of that. She couldn’t stand the taste of a tomato on its own but on a sandwich or pizza she was in love. She finally made it to her room and just wanted to open the door and throw her luggage in there to head off for the bar. She opened the door and sat her luggage inside the room before shutting and locking it behind her.

              It had been too long since she'd been able to relax and unwind. And while there were other parts of the day where she could hit the tables and get into trouble, right now she was just wanting something to take her edge off and mellow.

              “Alright Captain Morgan…” Gretchen said to herself as she headed down the hallway, feeling excited to make it to the bar.

              Gretchen walked down to the casino part of the Plaza and headed right for the bar. There were several people already sitting there drinking and watching boxing on the TVs that hung on the walls. She looked up, knowing she only liked boxing to see buff guys with no shirts on but didn't see anyone that interested her.

              “What’ll it be, pretty lady? Coffee, tea, or me?” The bartender asked in a flirty voice. She sighed.

             
I wonder what dumb bitch that line works on
, she thought but kept a half-smile on her face as she watched the boxing match. “I’ll have a Captain and Coke, please.”

              The bartender sat her drink down and went to the other end of the bar to wipe it down.

              Gretchen took a large swig off of her drink feeling the burn of the alcohol as it ran down her throat. Her belly warmed and she knew it would be only a few minutes before her body started relaxing too. Not a heavy drinker in typical circumstances, it didn't take many before she was showing signs of becoming tipsy. She sighed with relief and noticed the guy next to her was fairly attractive. She wanted to talk to him but didn’t know what to say. She’d always lost what to say when trying to start a conversation with someone new.

             
And besides, am I really here for any drama? I just want to drink and lose half my paycheck before boarding the plane back
, she thought.
Although, my best friend did say the best way to get over a guy is to get under a new one.

              “My name’s Gretchen, what’s yours?” She asked, taking another sip of the warm liquid in her glass to calm her nerves.

              “Shay.” He replied, “I’m glad to know I’m not alone in the world of weird names.”

              “Gretchen
is
weird. Most times people just call me Chin.” She replied with a smile, proud of herself for starting a conversation with the attractive man. “I bet you get called Shane all the time, huh?”

              “Oh yeah. I was an only child and the kids at school always called me Shane because they thought that's what people were saying instead of Shay.” He replied with a chuckle, sipping on his mixed drink as he stared up at the boxing match. “I don’t know either of these boxers, but the guy in the red trunks is kicking ass.”

              “I barely watch any sports. Most times I’m stuck cooking in the kitchen at the restaurant.” Gretchen replied, taking a long sip of her drink. “I actually watch Dr. Who more than anything else.”

              “No kidding? That’s my
favorite
show.” Shay replied, grinning over at her. His smile made Gretchen feel butterflies in her stomach. There was really something about his appearance, the gruffness of it and the wildness in his eyes, that made her weak. “I’ve been watching since last season and can’t get enough. I wish I’d been watching the whole time. I can’t believe how long it’s been on TV.”

              “Me either. I’ve been watching it since I was a kid. I think I started watching it when I was six. My favorite part about it is just how they can change who plays Dr. Who.”

              “Yeah, did you know that his regeneration was originally called renewal
?
” Shay asked, raising his eyebrows a moment as he looked over at Gretchen before he took a swig of his drink.

              “No, I didn’t. How do you if you just started watching it last season?” Gretchen asked, confused by the conflict of information but yet intrigued.

              “Actually, I wondered how they were able to change who plays the Doctor so, believe it or not, I just Googled it.” Shay said with a laugh. “Ah, people underestimate what information you can find with Google. Just type in a question and you’re more than likely going to find an answer. I know I’m weird.”

              Gretchen looked into that deeply tanned face and those dark eyes. Weird was starting to not be the word she'd use to describe him.

Hot, delicious, sex on a stick is more like it.

              “Nice.” Gretchen replied with a chuckle. She thought about the replica of the Sonic Screwdriver from Dr. Who she had in her purse and pulled it out. “Check this out, you think
you’re
weird? My friends
hate
when I pull this out in public but I love it. Look it lights up!”

              “That’s great.” Shay said with a laugh as Gretchen demonstrated for him. Sounds from the show played off of it and she laughed again, seeing people looking over at them. “Your friends get embarrassed by that I take it? They’re not comfortable with random strangers looking over at them while they do goofy things, eh? I think being comfortable with that is attractive.”

              “Yeah?” Gretchen asked, looking over at Shay. He didn’t hear her as his friends walked up and called his name, stealing his attention away.

              “Hey Shay, c’mon let’s get outta here ‘n hit up a titty bar, bro.” One of his friends said, instantly dropping in sex appeal to Gretchen. She put her Sonic Screwdriver back in her purse and took a long slow sip from her drink, preparing to just be sitting there alone.

              “Nah man, I’m good. I’m just going to stay here and talk while I watch the fight.” Shay replied. He turned back to her and smiled before looking back up at the fight as it went into its fourth round. “I didn’t think the fight would go this long honestly. Look at how scrawny that guy is.”

              “You aren't much bigger.” Gretchen said in a teasing tone of voice, even though Shay was clearly more buff than the guy in the ring. “I’m just kidding, you’re pretty tone, not scrawny at all. You a boxer too, then?”

              “Ha, yeah. I’m a heavyweight, that dude in the ring is a welterweight.” Shay admitted with a laugh before he downed the rest of his mixed drink and looked over at Gretchen. “You want another round? I see you’re getting a little low there.”

              “Sure.” Gretchen replied before downing the rest of it. “Thanks. So what made you not go with your friends to the strip club?”

              “Tits are tits. If you’ve seen one pair you’ve seen them all pretty much.” Shay said as he ordered them both new drinks with a wave of his hand then put up two fingers and pointed at their glasses. “Plus, I’d rather spend my night talking with a pretty woman than spending money to see her dance.”