Bear Pause (BBW / Bear Shifter Romance): A Billionaire Oil Bearons Romance (Bear Fursuits Book 6) by Isadora Montrose Page B

course, it made it difficult to concentrate, and figuring out how to hold the line so that the horse couldn’t hurt himself was harder than it looked. But, hey, he was standing next to his mate and that felt just fine.
    From the moment he had first scented Laura, Steve had known. Her personal fragrance was engraved in his brain. She was his mate. He had never truly believed that it could happen that fast and hard. Older members of his bear shifter clan had told him his destiny would catch him unawares, but he had not truly believed them. But Dad and Granddad had been perfectly right.
    It was kind of a bonus to discover that Laura Bascom was one of the most beautiful females he had ever encountered. Scratch that. The most beautiful. Every single thing about her appealed to all that was male in him. From her lovely face to her lush figure, she was gorgeous.
    When she smiled, she had two little dimples that winked like the flashers on a lightning bug and drew him just as surely. When she moved, the sway of her round ass and the length of her legs made him hard. He ached to touch her. He ached to taste her. And she acted like he was just another guy, and not a very interesting one. How could fate have dealt him such a hand?
    Laura smelled like the world’s most enticing she-bear, but she acted like she was noseblind. And there didn’t seem to be one damned thing he could do about it. He had inveigled himself into doing work that put him in her path. She merely smiled pleasantly at him and moved on unhurriedly. She returned his greetings with cheerful neutrality.
    He had been neglecting his original mission since he had gotten his first whiff of Laura. Not that it mattered. Saints or sinners, it didn’t much matter which the Bascoms were now. Laura Bascom was going to be his, and that meant he had better make up his mind to be part of her family. And as far as he could see, there was nothing to be ashamed of in Freddie Bascom and Laura. They were good people.
    They must’ve spent a full hour with Buddha on the lunge line. Some of the time Miss Laura went and sat on the fence and called her comments to him. And some of the time she stood beside him, not touching him, but so close that he could feel her presence like arrows in his heart. All too soon, she decided that Buddha had had enough for one day.
    Miss Laura went to the office, and he took Buddha back to his stall. He was brushing the yearling down when his pleasant fantasies about Laura were interrupted by loud voices three stalls over. Lance and Cory Saunders were arguing. At least Saunders was. Lance’s voice was cool and level as usual.
    Saunders was about Prescott’s age. But there the resemblance ended. Lance was quietly competent and generally popular with the other stable hands, as well as Carlos and the Bascoms. Cory was a swaggering bully with a foul mouth. Steve had no sympathy to waste on a shirker who wound up spending twice as long on his tasks because he was made to redo most of them.
    But what he really objected to was Saunders’ mouth. Steve was used to men who swore. Swearing was normal in the military. But he didn’t like it when men used coarse language in front of and around women with the plain intention of embarrassing them. This morning, Saunders was as profane as usual.
    “Shit, I just said that I’d like to get me some of that sweet fucking ass,” Cory protested. “Of course she fucking wouldn’t look at you.”
    Lance’s calm voice cut through Cory’s derisive bluster. “Teresita Delgado is only seventeen, and she’s Rosa Diego’s niece. If you can’t think of a better reason than that for leaving her alone, I’ll give you one. You say one more word to that young woman, good, bad or indifferent, and I personally will take you apart.”
    “I’d fucking like to see you try,” sneered Cory. But Steve noticed he shut up. Smart man. Lance was quiet, and soft-spoken, and not terribly communicative. But if he said a thing he meant it.