Billion Dollar Bear: BBW Paranormal Billionaire Romance (Bad Boy Alphas) (8 page)

Becca moaned as Jericho pressed her back
against the wet tile of the shower wall. Tilting her neck to the side, he
suckled on the sensitive spot near the hollow of her throat that always made
her go wild, teasing one nipple gently with his hand while moisture that had
nothing to do with the hot spray jetting above them pooled between her thighs.

      “You’re
the one who’s incorrigible,” she moaned as he lifted her leg and slid inside
her with one smooth motion. They must have made love at least five, no, six
times last night before she’d finally dropped off from sheer exhaustion, only
to be woken up at eight in the morning with his cock sliding into her again
from behind.

      She was
sore all over and in places she didn’t even know existed. By all rights her
body should be crying out for a break. But every time he touched her, kissed
her, spoke her name in that deep, seductive way of his, her body went soft and
her thighs popped open, ready to receive him.

      She was
wrong when she’d said to herself earlier that giving into him would lead to
addiction. It was more like enslavement – she was bound to the will of
her own desire as much as his. And she loved every minute of it.

      After he’d
made love to her in the shower, she sat on the bed with a towel wrapped around
her and watched him dress. “I’m going to have to go home and get a change of
clothes,” she said.

      He shook
his head, then went to the closet and pulled out a box. “No need. I bought you
something to wear for today.”

      Butterflies
fluttered in Becca’s chest as she took the box from him gingerly. “This had
better not be some kind of slutty get-up,” she warned. “I’d be fired on the
spot if anyone from my job caught me doing a tour in anything like that.”

      Jericho
scoffed. “Give me a little credit. Open the box already.”

      She did as
he asked, and her eyes widened as she pulled out an A-line dress with scooped
neckline made with a flowing, amber-colored fabric. Beneath it was a set of
gold-drop earrings and a matching necklace. “This is beautiful.”

      “I thought
the color matched your eyes,” he murmured, taking her hands and pulling her to
her feet. The towel slipped off her body to pool around her ankles, and hunger
flared in his eyes again, but he refrained from indulging, instead taking the
dress from her hands. “Let’s try this on you.”

      She stood
in front of the mirror a few moments later, adjusting her earrings, and then
stepped back to admire herself. The dress was a perfect fit, and flattering on
her curvy frame, and the gold pendant resting at her décolletage was a perfect
accent. He’d even bought her matching gold flats with insoles that were comfortable
and made for walking.

      “Look at
yourself.” Jericho wrapped his arms around from behind her and rested his chin
on the top of her head so he could look at her reflection with her. “You look absolutely
stunning.”
And so, so perfect for me,
he thought ruefully, staring at
the picture the two of them made in the mirror. She fit so perfectly in his
arms in a way that he knew no one else ever would… and yet he was going to have
to let her go very, very soon.

      “You
really didn’t have to do this, Jericho.” She turned to him, and wove her arms
around his neck, pulling him in for a soft kiss. “I would have been happy to
wear my clothes from yesterday if you didn’t want me to go home.”

      He chucked
her under the chin, resisting the urge to deepen the kiss lest they never leave
the hotel room for the rest of the day. “Don’t be silly,” he chided. “I would
never make you do that.” He stepped back, then took her hand and drew her
downstairs. “Now let’s go make the most of our last day together.”

* * *

They spent the day on a history tour of
Paris, visiting various sites important to the 18th century of France such as
the Panthéon, Palais du Luxembourg and the Place de la Concorde. The expedition
took them most of the day, and afterwards they rested their sore feet for a few
moments while enjoying a nice dinner at an outdoor bistro.

      Later,
when the sun was beginning to sink toward the horizon, they made their way to
the Eiffel Tower so they could catch the sunset from the top of the tower. Jericho
took one look at the long lines for the elevator and made an immediate dash for
the stairs. “We are not missing that sunset!” he called, his voice echoing in
the stairwell as she chased him up to the second floor.

      They made
it to the top in relatively good time, helped by the fact that she used her
tour guide pass to bypass the long line of people waiting for their chance to
get a view from the top. “This view never gets old,” she remarked as she stared
out at the sparkling city, her trained eyes easily picking out all the landmarks.
“No matter how many times I come up here.”

      “I bet it
doesn’t.” Jericho smiled and pulled her against him, content to allow her to
point out the landmarks from their vantage point and chatter on about them
while he stared at the sun dipping below the horizon. When the fiery orange
ball had almost completely disappeared, he took her gently by the shoulders and
turned her to face him.

      “Come with
me to Chicago.”

      “What?”
Becca’s brain froze, backtracked, fast-forwarded again. She’d been prattling on
about historic monuments in order to distract herself from the fact that he was
leaving, and here he was, slapping her in the face with it. “Are you out of
your mind?”

      “Just for
a few days,” Jericho begged, his cobalt eyes pleading. “You can spend a few
days back in America, just like you always wanted, and you can also learn more
about your were-bear heritage too.”

      Becca
recoiled. “You mean spend time with your clan?” Fear pulsed through her at the
very thought. “No, no way am I doing that. One of them might decide I’d looked
at them the wrong way and try to rip me apart.”

      Jericho’s
eyes flashed orange, his lips peeling back to expose fangs. “They wouldn’t
dare,” he growled, and Becca shrank back further until the metal rails were
digging into her back. He seemed to realize he was freaking her out then, and
took a moment to shake off the change. “Sorry,” he muttered. “I guess I’ve
gotten a little territorial.”

      “That’s
okay,” she said, a little shakily, but she stepped forward nonetheless and
placed a comforting hand on his forearm.
This was Jericho
, she reminded
herself. He would never hurt her. “But I don’t know that you’ll be able to
guarantee my safety amongst your clan.”

      “I can,”
he said confidently, lifting his chin.

      Becca
cocked her head. “And how is that, exactly?”

      “You could
say I’m high up in the pecking order.”

      “Oh
really? Just how high?”

      Jericho shot
her a charming, slightly cocky grin that told her he knew she would eventually
give in. “You’ll find out… if you come with me.”

      When Becca
only looked away, he let out a gusty sigh. “Look, you don’t have to meet my clan
at all if you don’t want to. We can just spend a few more days together, you
and me, seeing the sights in Chicago. Please. You’ve spent so much time showing
me your home, and I want the chance to show you mine.”

      Becca
turned back to face him, sadness and longing in her dark-eyed gaze. “And how
long until the few days turns into a week, and then two weeks, or maybe even
longer?” she shook her head. “I’m not ready to make that kind of commitment,
and frankly, neither are you.” She laughed harshly. “The last thing I need is
to be stuck in a foreign country on my own with no way to get back.”

      “Is that
what happened to your mother?” Jericho took her hand, guessing at the source of
the bitter pain in her voice. When she nodded, he pressed her fingers to his
mouth and kissed them gently. “You know I would never do that to you, right?”
he said. “If you ever wanted to leave, all you’d need to do is say the word and
I’d have you on a plane just like that. I would never force you to stay against
your will.”

      Becca only
shook her head again, then tugged her hand from his and turned toward the
sunset.
But that’s just the thing
, she wanted to say aloud, but didn’t
dare.
I’m afraid that if I go home with you I’ll never want to come back,
and I can’t handle that right now.

“Where are we going now?” Jericho asked
as Becca pulled out of the parking lot near the Eiffel tower and merged with
traffic.

      “Back to
your hotel room.” Becca glanced sideways at him. “Unless you need to make a pit
stop somewhere along the way?”

      Jericho
hesitated, wondering if he was pushing too hard.
To hell with it
, he
thought, deciding to take the plunge. This was their last night together, so he
may as well go as far with this as he could. “Can we go to your place?”

      Shock
flashed through Becca’s dark eyes. “Why?”

      “Because.”
He placed a hand on her thigh and gently squeezed. “I want to experience a
little more of you before I go home.”

      Becca
turned away from the path she’d been taking toward the Seine and instead lead
them into the heart of the city. Her flat was located on the 6th floor of a
complex just off Rue Francaise in a bustling area where she could always feel
the hum and vibrant energy of the city.

      “Wow,” Jericho
said when she let him into her flat. It was a very open, airy space with wooden
beams hanging from the rafters and birch flooring that gleamed softly in the
evening light. The furniture was all done in pale colors – cotton candy blue,
lilac, smoke grey – and though simple, was in good taste. Through an open
doorway he spotted a kitchen done in red tile, oak and granite, and on the
other side of the living room was a pair of glass doors that led out to a back
patio.

      He
stiffened suddenly as the breeze wafting in from a cracked window suddenly
shifted, bringing him the unfamiliar scent of a human male. “Who the hell is
that?”

      Becca
caught the scent at the same time and dropped her purse on a wooden table near
the entrance with a curse. “Ethan,” she muttered. “My ex-boyfriend.”

      The sound
of a toilet flushing caught their ears, and a few seconds later a tall,
muscular blonde dressed in jeans and a black metal band t-shirt sauntered into
the living area, a lazy grin on his face. “Hey,” he greeted Becca, his words
flowing smoothly with his French accent, and then his blue eyes narrowed on Jericho.
“Who is this?”

      “Your
invitation to leave.” Jericho stepped in front of Becca, invading the
intruder’s personal space. “Now.”

      Ethan
snorted. “I don’t take orders from you, monsieur,” he sneered.

      “Jericho,
wait.” Becca pushed herself between the two men before Jericho ripped Ethan’s
throat out. She couldn’t blame Jericho for his anger – she was pissed off
as well – but she didn’t want to have to explain what her ex’s dead body
was doing in her flat. “Let me handle this.”

      Jericho
gritted his teeth, but stepped back. “Ethan, I don’t know what the hell you’re
thinking, but you need to get out. Now.”

      Ethan’s
eyes narrowed, and he crossed his arms smugly. “No, actually, I believe your
friend here is the one who needs to leave. My name is the one that’s still on
the lease here, so technically I’m just coming home after a long day.”

      Becca
hissed, wishing she could plow her fist into his face – better yet, shift
so she could scare the living daylights out of him. But if she did that, he
would spread the word around town that she was a monster, and her life would be
ruined. “If you don’t remove yourself from the premises, I will call the police.
I mean it.”

      Ethan
instantly took another tack, spreading his hands wide as if trying to beseech
her. “Come on, cherie,” he pleaded. “Why must you treat me this way? I just
want to start over with you. You’re the love of my life.”

      “If that’s
true, then why can I still smell the stench of another woman’s perfume on you?”
Becca spat, completely unmoved. She couldn’t believe she’d ever given this
scumbag the time of day, even if he did have a pretty face.

      Ethan only
shrugged. “I rub elbows with many women in Paris as a model. That doesn’t mean
I was actually with one of them.” He hooked an arm around her waist and tilted
her head up. “Come now, kiss me, and you’ll remember what it was like between
us.”

      The next
thing Becca knew, she was ripped out of Ethan’s grasp and Jericho was dangling
her ex-boyfriend in the air by the throat using just one hand. “Touch her like
that again,” he said with a growl as his eyes glowed orange, “And I’ll rip you
to pieces.”

      He
released Ethan, who dropped to the floor like a sack of potatoes, sputtering
and choking. It took a few moments before he could clamber to his feet, and
when he did he grabbed a vase from a nearby table and shattered it, then took
one of the sharp pieces in his hand. “I am not afraid of you,” he sneered. “Try
coming at me again and see what happens.”

      Jericho
roared, a completely inhuman sound, and he hunched over as the change rippled
over him. Fur began to sprout from his arms, face and the back of his neck, his
muscles stretching until his shirt began to tear at the seams to accommodate
him. Terror rippled through Becca as she watched the dark brown fur begin to
solidify, and she wondered if she was about to watch a human be devoured by a
were-bear for the first time.

      “Oh my
God!” Ethan shrieked like a frightened child, dropping the piece of pottery in
his hand. He ran for the door, but Becca stepped directly into his path before
he could go.

      “Give me
the spare key first.”

      “You crazy
bitch!” He fumbled the key from his pocket and tossed it at her, and then dashed
out the door, never once looking back.

      Behind
her, she heard Jericho collapse with a loud groan to the floor. Fear spiking
her blood stream, she hurriedly locked the door, and then rushed to his side.
“Are you alright?” she asked, watching as the fur receded and his muscles
shrank back to normal proportions. “Jericho? Talk to me!”

      “I’m okay,”
he replied, his voice barely above a whisper. “Just... a little winded. It’ll
take me a few minutes to get my breath back, that’s all.”

      Nodding,
Becca rose and went to the kitchen. She came back a minute later with a bowl
full of red meat cut into bite-sized chunks and a fork. “Here,” she said. “Eat
this.”

      Jericho
took the bowl from her gratefully, then shoveled the meat into his mouth. “You
know about this?” he asked, lifting the empty bowl. “How?”

      She took
it from him with a rueful smile. “I discovered for myself a long time ago that
I recover faster from a change after I’ve had fresh meat.”

      Jericho
smiled, and then got to his feet. He waited until she’d returned from the
kitchen, then took her into his arms and kissed her. “I’m sorry if I frightened
you,” he said softly. “I just couldn’t stand watching the bastard manhandle you
like that.”

      She
grinned up at him. “I would have handled him myself if you hadn’t interfered,”
she said, “But thank you. It was rather fun to watch you scare the shit out of
him.”

      Jericho laughed,
then kissed her again. “So what do we do now, now that the excitement is over?”

      Becca
shrugged. “You wanna watch a movie? I don’t have much in the way of cable, but
there is Netflix.”

“Netflix and chill?” he asked, his lips
curving into a sexy smile.

“Sounds good to me,” Becca replied,
laughing.

      They
cuddled up on the couch and watched
When Harry Met Sally
, a rom-com that
Jericho had never watched in his life precisely because it was a rom-com, but
that Becca had cajoled him into seeing, insisting that he would love it. He’d
ended up laughing uproariously throughout most of the movie, which Becca had
delighted in because even though he’d smiled plenty, she hadn’t really heard
him laugh so freely and wholeheartedly until tonight.

      “Oh man,”
he said when the movie was over, “that fake orgasm scene was something else.”

      Becca
snorted. “Figures your mind would immediately come back to that.” She poked him
in the chest.

      He
grinned, and then his brows drew together in a mock scowl. “You’re not pulling
that kind of stunt on me, are you, woman?” he growled.

      Becca
giggled. “Maybe.” She lifted her chin. “Why don’t you try and see if you can
tell the difference?”

      Without
hesitation, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her, and she completely
forgot about any chance of faking anything as his tongue slid into her mouth,
and he banded his arms about her tightly. His cock swelled beneath her, pressing
against her hipbone, and a sparking a rush of excitement coursed through her
veins as she tangled her fingers in his silky hair.

      “You might
be able to fake a moan here or there,” he growled into her ear, sliding a hand
up her skirt. “But there’s no way you will ever have to fake an orgasm with me.
Besides, I know how hot I make you…I can smell the desire on you.” He slipped
two fingers inside her, and she moaned aloud – she hadn’t had any panties
to change into, so she was fully exposed to his touch.

      Jericho
hissed at the feel of her hot, wet pussy clenching around his fingers. “You’re
so damn tight.” He leaned over and lowered his lips to her neck, kissing her
possessively, his teeth grazing over the sensitive skin. “Come to bed with me,”
he demanded, drawing her onto his lap. “I need you.”

      Becca
clung to Jericho as he carried her into her bedroom. He set her down on the
bed, and she nuzzled into the white downy comforter. Her bedroom bore little
resemblance to the splendor of his hotel suite, with its simple muted colors
and bare bones furniture. The room was covered with knick-knacks and
memorabilia collected from her tourism adventures. But Jericho didn’t seem to
care at all or even notice; he simply pulled off her dress, then tore off his own
clothes, and joined her on the bed, his eyes dancing with the flames of desire,
and she shivered at the look of the raw hunger that sprawled across his
chiseled face knowing exactly what he was about to do to her.

      “On your
hands and knees for me,” he ordered gruffly, teeth biting down on his bottom
lip as though it would help curb the intense need he felt to be inside of her.
“I want to take you from behind…I want to see that gorgeous ass of yours.”

      She did as
he asked, crouching in front of the window, which was separated by a gauzy
white curtain so she could still see outside while being afforded some privacy.
The twinkling lights of Paris blurred in front of her eyes as he spread her
legs. She felt him shift down and suddenly his hot, wet tongue was licking her pussy,
his mouth suckling at her clit, making her wetter than she’d ever been. She let
out a loud moan before burying her face in the pillow.  He was relentless
in his skillful ability to make her come so quickly, and within minutes she
found her clit buzzing with the excitement that was soon to be followed by an
intense orgasm…a real orgasm, one that would leave her stunned and breathless
as she fisted her hands in the sheets, tangled up in a web of blankets, and
pleasure.

      Jericho knew
what he was doing. He deliberately waited until she was on the verge of exploding
before pulling back up to his knees and fiercely pushing deep into her pussy,
filling every inch of her with his gloriously hard cock. She was any man’s wet
dream, her round and cream-colored ass mounted high in the air as he fucked her
hard, claiming her once again, making her his. She cried out his name, her need
for him coming out in broken words, her mind buzzing with delirious pleasure,
unable to focus on anything but the wicked fire that ripped through her body,
letting her know that this man was one that she would never forget…and that she
would always long for.

Jericho growled his desire with every
thrust of his hips, his hands squeezing her ass, gripping her tightly, their
movement in perfect rhythm, moving together in a deliciously wicked dance that
connected them in a way neither had ever felt before.

Her curls spilled over her back,
contrasting wonderfully against her pale skin, and he grabbed a handful of it
into his fist and tugged, pulling her back more firmly against him. She came
suddenly, crying out his name as she shuddered wildly beneath him, her
throbbing pussy spurring him on. He released her hair so he could grip her hips
harder, pushing himself into her as far as he could, and when she shuddered
beneath him in another release, he finally let himself go.