Second Chance Bear and a Baby: BBW Bear Shifter Baby Paranormal Romance (Who's the Daddy? Book 3) by Harmony Raines Page B

a mate. Because of me. After they got the information from her, found why it didn’t work, they killed her.”
    “Liam. I’m so sorry.” She reached out and touched him, her fingers sending warmth and a sense of calm though his body. “I didn’t know.”
    “You are like my second chance. I never thought I’d get a happy ever after. But there you were.”
    “But it wasn’t love at first sight, or whatever it was that you shifters call it. It was after you had that dr…” She put her hand over her mouth. “You took the drug!”
    She had jumped to the right conclusion, but he needed to explain the facts. “I didn’t know. Joel put it in the drink.”
    “He asked me to stay, to make sure you drank it. He knew what would happen!”
    “Yes.”
    “It was such a risk. What if I had been married, or in love, or a lesbian?!”
    He laughed bitterly. “It would have finished me off, but I was gone anyway. The case, catching those responsible for Niq It and breaking the supply chain, it kept me going. I was contemplating killing the guy who killed Louisa, and then taking my own life.”
    “Liam, that’s terrible!” She moved closer to him. “Are you sure I’m the right one for your second chance?”
    He cupped her face in his hands and kissed her, wanting to chase away any doubts she might have. She pressed her body against hers, and he wanted to hold her, to make love to her, but this was not the time or the place. He pulled away from her. “I want to believe that fate made Joel put the drug in my drink, that fate chose you, just as it chose Louisa.”
    “Do you still miss her terribly?” Carla asked, and his heart broke to see the pain and doubt in her face.
    “That’s the worst thing,” he said, his breath shuddering in his chest as he spoke. “The deeper I fall in love with you, the less I miss her.”
    “But you said Niq It didn’t work on those with mates.”
    “I didn’t have a mate. She was gone. Maybe that was the reason, or maybe in the two years since Louisa died, they refined Niq It.” He looked at her, willing her to understand. “Whatever the reason, and no matter how much I hate the drug, I am thankful. For you, Carla, and the life we can have together. That’s why I changed departments, because I know this is where my future is, with you, and I want you to know how committed I am to making you happy.”
    “I’m going to need some time to wrap my head around all this,” she said, and his heart felt lighter, the relief brought on by her words sudden and swift.
    “But you’ll give me a chance?” he said. “Bear and all.”
    “I think the bear is cute. You, on the other hand, are going to have to work at it.”
    He stood up, and pulled her to her feet, holding her in his arms. “Whatever it takes. I’ve lost one mate. I don’t intend to let that happen again.”
    “You aren’t the only one who is going to have to work at it. I don’t want to take this mating bond thing for granted. Our relationship has to be based on more than that.”
    “Well, the sex was OK too,” he whispered in her ear, before he swallowed her retort with a kiss.

Chapter Nineteen – Carla
    “Thank you so much for looking after Sophia,” Tammy said, picking her daughter up and kissing her on the cheek.
    “No problem at all. Liam is very good with her,” Carla responded in a hushed voice. Liam was now doing the other thing he did best, mending the closet in her bedroom.
    “That man would make a wonderful husband, and father,” Tammy said with a wink. “You are sleeping together, aren’t you?”
    Carla blushed. “Once. When we first met.”
    “Why not since? He looks as if he knows exactly how to satisfy a woman.” Tammy laughed as Carla blushed. “I’m right, then.”
    “Maybe.”
    “So why aren’t you sleeping together now?” Tammy asked.
    “We wanted to get to know each other more. You know, it all happened so fast.”
    “And we’re here cramping your style.” Tammy smiled. “I