Romance: JADEN: An MMA Fighter Romance (Bad Boy Tattoo Romance) (New Adult Pregnancy Short Stories) (45 page)

“You don’t live in the main city?” Kate asked, startled. “But you’re a cowboy.”

Mr. Barrett’s laugh was loud and rich, filling the carriage up and making Kate’s spine tingle curiously. “I got enough of the city when I was younger,” he said cheerily. “And once you have a job that requires you to perform for thousands of people twice a week, the noise and bustle becomes overrated.” He was sitting so close to her that if he were to lean down a few inches their faces would have been touching, and Kate smiled despite her reservations. “Besides, I think you’ll like living here. The wood is our back yard, and we even have a river a stone’s throw away. Wildflowers as far as the eye can see, a few animals, even some chickens. Got a cow that roams around, too.” Mr. Barrett’s---Jason’s---eyes were sparkling with excitement while he talked, but now the light faded. “I suppose I should tell you the rough of it.” His broad shoulders suddenly slumped, and he sat back in his seat. Kate turned her head toward him, alarmed by his sudden change in demeanor.

“What is it?” Her voice was higher and more panicked than she intended to show. This was it; he was going to tell her his dark secret, and she would finally know what the fatal flaw was.

“This town is…not normal.” Jason looked at his hands, which were clasped together in his lap. He pressed his lips together into a line, weighing his words before he chose them. “I noticed it when I first moved here, and when it started changing me, too, I found out the whole truth.”

Kate was holding her breath without realizing it, and now she exhaled. Changing him? How?

“There’s plenty of things we can’t explain, I know you know that,” he continued. Kate thought he was referring to swapping stories about ghosts; what else could he mean. “But there are some things that you can explain, but no one would believe you if you did.” Jason raised his eyes, and Kate felt a chill pass through them her body at the desperation there. “But you felt what that porter was doing to you, so I know you’ll believe me.”

Kate felt a bubble of hysteria rising in her chest. “What are you talking about?” she asked a softly. “You mean, when I felt like he was hypnotizing me…” she waited for Jason to nod mutely. “That was real?”

“Yes,” Jason said soberly. “I know this is going to sound crazy, but he was a vampire.” Jason paused and looked at Kate, hesitant to go on. “I’ve seen him bite people before. It doesn’t kill them, just makes them sick and stupid. “

“I thought vampires were handsome,” Kate said, remembering his pale, round face with its uneven mustache. “That man looked like a toad.”

Jason shook his head and patted Kate’s shoulder; the motion was more soothing than she thought it would be. “They can look like anyone. Anything can.”

“Anything?”

“Anything,” Jason repeated. “There aren’t really a lot of dangerous creatures, and as long as you never go past a certain point in the woods alone, you’ll be fine. But we have shapeshifters, vampires, elves, all sorts here.” His eyes were wide with fear, and he was watching Kate for a reaction.

The carriage had stopped, but Kate couldn’t move. She was too busy pondering his words, trying to find the hole in the story. It sounded so outlandish that she could hardly be blamed for assuming the entire thing was a lie---except she had been there. She’d felt the porter’s odd power, the irresistible pull of his baffling charm. She remembered his words---he wanted to come through and visit sometime. She shuddered violently. If she had decided to go with him, would she a mindless shell now, or would it have taken longer? What had she gotten herself into?

“Katherine,” Jason said sharply. The sound of her full first name brought her out of her reverie suddenly, and she jumped so high she knocked her head against the top of the carriage.

“I’m fine,” she grumbled, rubbing her fontanelle.  “I’m just thinking.”

“Well, I understand you need to think,” Jason said gently. “But I want you to know you shouldn’t worry.”

Kate laughed bitterly. “There are vampires and werewolves in this town, but I shouldn’t worry.” Tears flooded her eyes, both from the pain and the sudden burst of emotion. “I have no family, no friends, but my new husband says he can protect me from the paranormal, so I shouldn’t worry!”

“No, you shouldn’t.” Jason pushed open her carriage door and gestured outside. “Now come on in. I need to show you your new home. Your safe new home.”

Katie hopped out, still grumbling and holding her head. Dust flew up and settled around her shoes as she stood in the twilight, silently fuming. Her mood softened as she gazed at the sprawling butter yellow house at the end of the long dirt driveway. It had wide bay windows, and the doors were thrown wide open to invite in the breeze. There were indeed wildflowers around the home as far as she could see, stretching into the forest to form a colorful carpet she knew she wouldn’t have trouble treading for fear of disturbing its beauty. She could into the house and through the back door, where there was a lazily running river about one hundred yards beyond the start of the wood. Katie felt herself moving toward the house as if in a trance, eager to sit down on a surface that wasn’t moving.

She climbed the steps into the living room before Jason inside, and she was admiring the gleaming floors and roaring fire as he deposited her luggage into a room. Kate walked over to a soft-looking couch and sank into its cushions, pleased to find it not firm or sagging, but perfectly in between. She let her mind stay empty for all of ten seconds before the panic bled back into her brain, just in time for Jason to sit next to her.

“We have something else to talk about,” he said uncertainly. “I was actually hoping you’d put it together by now, but it doesn’t look like you have.”

Kate looked at him sharply, unsettled to see the unease on his face. “What is it now?”

Jason laughed at the weariness in her voice. “You’re taking this in stride, I see. It’s about my show. And about me.”

“The bear?” Kate asked absently. “Don’t tell me he lives with you, or something.” Then something in her mind stirred. “Wait; I remember asking how you trained him. Are you going to tell me? Or show me?” She felt a smile start to break cross her face, but it fell before it was fully formed. Jason’s smile was too mysterious for comfort. “He does live with us,” she moaned, exasperated.

“Sort of,” Jason admitted. “But you won’t ever have to see him if you don’t want to.”

Kate’s heart was pounding in her chest again. “Mr. Barrett, what do you mean?”

“It’s Jason, Miss Green.” Jason looked uncomfortable, but he didn’t speak again.

“Kate,” she shot back. “What do you mean?”

He was starting to smile bashfully. “I mean…it’s me. I’m the bear.”

Kate’s mouth dropped open. “You’re a…shifter?”

“Werebear,” he said quickly. “And you don’t have to see my bear form, ever.” He leaned closer to her and took one of her hands in his, and Kate felt a ripple of electricity shoot up her arm. “Kate, I’ve grown to like you so much. You’re a wonderful soul, and you’re even more beautiful than I imagined. I can’t make you stay, but…I need you here. You’re so kind and understanding.” His eyes were full of fear, but an edge of hope was present as well. “I can make you happy. And you never need to be afraid. Anything that could hurt you stays far, far away from me.”

Kate finally took a breath, then another, and another, and she found she couldn’t stop. They came faster and faster, and eventually she couldn’t keep her body upright. She felt a hand on her back, and then she was falling sideways onto her new werebear cowboy husband’s lap. How embarrassing.

When she came to, Kate was on a soft bed high off the ground in a cool, dark room. She could a hear a low voice murmuring gently, and something cold and wet pressing against her forehead. She thought she would have a few moment before the reality of her new life rushed back to her, but her awareness came  back to her so suddenly that it was if she’d never passed out in the first place. The proximity of the supernatural was a fact she couldn’t evade, and neither was her new husband’s true identity. Kate opened her eyes slightly, and her mind briefly believed an actual bear was hunched over her body, stroking her feverish head with a wet cloth. She whimpered, and her eyes flew open all the way, revealing Jason’s worried face as his hand quickly drew away from hers.

He blinked down at her as she propped herself up on her elbow, pulling cool air into her body gratefully. “You went out like a light,” he said, his voice filled with concern. “Did you eat at all today?”

Kate shook her head, and she realized her curls were all messed up. “I forgot,” she admitted as she sat up and started trying to smoothen her chestnut waves down around her shoulders. The sheet Jason has placed across her fell away, and Kate realized she was wearing her slip and underthings. He’d removed her dress. She looked up, ready to snap at him, but the anger faded when she saw he had turned his face away from her and was blushing furiously. We are getting married, she thought and was surprised to find that she meant it. She really did intend to marry him after all this; was she crazy? Had the magic of the area taken away her sense, too?

“Sorry about that,” Jason was saying. “I think you got  a little overheated, too. It’s a little warmer out west, even in winter.” He ran a hand through his thick black hair nervously, peering at her as though he was afraid she would snap at him. His green eyes were flecked with gold, like individual stalks of wheat in a lush prairie. “Is that ok?”

Kate nodded slowly, watching him from her place on the bed. Now that she was looking at him, she wondered how she couldn’t tell he wasn’t fully human. The power that rolled off him was almost tangible---it hadn’t just been an impression she was getting in the wake of his anger. The dark stubble covering his cheeks and  jaw was much thicker now, almost a full beard. He’d grown that while she had been out, she supposed. His jacket had been discarded, and she could see that his sleeves were rolled up, but the room was too dark to make out much else. It made her nervous.

Jason stood and walked over to the other side of the room suddenly, and Kate was startled. She wondered if she had done something unintentionally to offend him, but she hadn’t even moved. Then she saw him take out a match, and a second later he turned around with two lit lanterns. He placed on by the bed and the other by the door, filling the room with a soft golden light that was oddly comforting.

“Is that better?” he asked.

“How did you know I wanted that?” Kate’s heartbeat sped up as her suspicions rose. “Are you psychic too?”

Jason shook his head, amusement clear on his features. “No, but I could tell you were scared, and could see that you weren’t getting enough light to see me, and that was bothering you more.” The silence that filled the room was so pronounced that it was almost deafening. Jason’s face crumpled. “And now you’re scared because I read you so well. I’m sorry; it’s kind of what I do.” He looked down at his hands and sat on the bed again.

“Is it because you’re a bear?” Kate whispered. Jason laughed again, and she jumped.

“Yes, and you don’t have to sound so solemn about it.” His eyes were sparkling again, and Kate saw that they looked more flecked with gold than they had before---streaks, actually, more than flecks. “I have certain advantages because I’m a bear. I’m taller and stronger than humans, I can smell better, read energies, and I have a few tricks up my sleeve as well.” He looked up briefly and winked, and a red-hot current of energy shot between them, ripping a gasp from Kate’s lips. She felt her nipples harden under her slip and brassiere, and she was thankful the sheets were pulled around her again. Kate was suddenly very aware of how close he was sitting to her, and she felt herself inch closer to him.

“So,” he continued, looking down at his hands again. “Now that you know everything…what do you think?”

Kate bit her lip and gazed at him. “What do you mean?”

Jason’s brow knit together in confusion. “I mean, do you want to stay? I can’t make you marry me, I know. I can’t force you.”

“You could,” Kate said softly, looking at the size of his hands.

“I could,” Jason allowed. “But I won’t.” He met her gaze again, and Kate felt the muscles in her lower stomach clench suddenly. “I won’t make you do anything you don’t want to do. I want you, Kate…but I want you to want me, too.” He stretched a hand out and brushed her lower lip with his thumb, then threaded his fingers through her soft brown hair. Kate leaned her cheek against his palm, sighing happily at the tingle of energy that met her when their skin touched. She kissed his palm lightly, and she was surprised to see him shiver in response. His fingers started to play with the loose curls still in her hair.

“I do want you,” Kate said, her voice low. She pressed her thighs together, trying to relieve some of the pressure between her legs that had flared up when they touched. She looked at Jason, startled to see his eyes even more overrun with gold than before. She couldn’t look away. “I want you more than I ought to, having just met you.”

Jason laughed and leaned closer to her, slipping his other hand around her waist under the silky sheet. He squeezed her gently and brushed his lips against her ear. “How do you know how much you ought to want me?”

Her voice was stuck in her throat; all she could do was laugh breathlessly. “I guess I don’t.” His lips were inches from hers, and she could smell the coffee on his breath, as well as something light and fresh, like baking soda.