The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance by Marlie Monroe

giving her a pass for the moment and she was grateful
for the reprieve. Maybe if she got lucky, it would stay gone.
    After cleaning up, she climbed out of the shower,
dried off, and put on the robe she’d left hanging on the inside of the door.
She brushed her teeth and hair, left the wet length trailing down her back, and
went in search of coffee in the hopes of having a pot brewed before Gray
returned. Since she didn’t know when he left, she wasn’t sure how much longer
he’d be gone. Her stomach gave a hungry rumble, surprising her. Hopefully he’d
be back soon.
    She headed into the kitchen, got out the coffee and
filters, and paused as something scraped against the back door. With a frown,
she cocked her head and listened. Before she could figure out what she was
hearing, the back door flew open and a man she’d never seen before waltzed into
the room like he owned the house.
    Frozen with shock, she stood there, gaping at the
man. The stranger stood several inches taller than her, had stringy dark blond
hair that hung limp around a long, narrow face covered in a patchy beard and
mustache. His beady brown eyes were bloodshot and looking right back at her.
    “Well, well, well…” The man leered, looking her up
and down. “You must be the daughter. Where’s Nancy?”
    The question snapped her out of her fugue. She took
a step back and pulled her robe tighter around her. “Nancy isn’t here and you
need to leave. I don’t know who you are, but you can’t just walk into a
stranger’s house without permission.”
    “You’re a bossy little thing, aren’t you?” The man
scowled. “I like a woman with some spunk. Just ask your mama.”
    “I told you, Nancy isn’t here. Please leave.” She
reached behind her, careful to conceal her movements, and eased open the
cutlery drawer. Feeling around blindly, she chose the largest item she could
find and prayed it was something sharper than a butter knife. She whipped the
weapon out in front of her, saw that she’d chosen a serrated bread knife, and
hoped it would be enough to scare him off. “Leave before I have to call the
authorities.”
    “Now, now,” he said, holding up his hands in front
of him. “There’s no need to get hostile. I’m only here to collect what I have
coming to me.”
     “I don’t know what you’re talking about. Just
leave.” She took another step backwards toward the living room, where she’d
left her cell phone. She glanced back over her shoulder, wishing she was
already in the other room.
    The man sprang forward and slammed his fist into
her cheek. Her head snapped back and pain exploded through her face. She cried
out in surprise and agony and dropped the knife to clutch her cheek and eye.
She stumbled backwards until her back ran into the countertop. Before she could
think beyond the pain, the man grabbed her arm in a vice-tight grip. His free
hand reached for the closure of her robe and panic clawed up her throat. She
screamed and fought, striking back and using her nails to gouge at his face and
eyes.
    “You stupid, bitch!” He hollered, reared his arm
back, and slapped her across the face.
    The impact stole her breath and made her eyes feel
like they were going to pop out of socket. She stood frozen and in agony while
he pulled the belt free of her robe and dragged her over to the table. Visions
of being laid out on the surface and raped and killed flashed through her mind
and scared the hell out of her. Adrenaline spiked through her blood and gave
her the energy to struggle against his hold on her.
    He pushed her into one of the chairs and yanked her
arms behind her. Despite the way she jerked and pulled, he held her tight, tied
the belt around her arms, and knotted it securely. He walked around in front of
her. “You’re just as dumb as your bitch of a mother.”
    Mara struggled to free her hands, but the belt
wouldn’t budge. “You don’t want to do this. My mate will be back any second and
he’ll kill you for