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

this. If you leave now, you might be able to escape.”
    “I’m not budging until I get what I came for. Maybe
not even then.” He pulled out a chair, turned it around backwards, and sat down
in front of her. He touched the bloody scratches running down the right side of
his face. “After all, I owe you for this.”
    “You attacked me first.” Tears rolled down her face
unaided and snot clogged her nose, making it hard to breathe.
    “Things didn’t have to get violent. All you had to
do was give me my money.”
    “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
    “Your mother owes me fifty thousand dollars for the
package she lost.”
    Mara’s mind raced back to the conversation she
overheard before her date with Gray. Was it possible that was only the night
before? It felt like a lifetime ago. “I’m not responsible for whatever my
mother has done. I barely know her.”
    “Not my problem.” He shrugged, as emotionless as if
they were talking about the weather. “You’re the one who’s here, so you’re the
one who’s going to get me my cash.”
    “I don’t have that kind of money.”
    “Bullshit. Your mama told me all about your grandma
kicking the bucket and leaving all of her money to the two of you. She also
told me you’ve landed the richest bachelor in the state, so you can save your
lies for somebody who’s dumb enough to believe them. I know you’re loaded and
you’re going to give me what I want or suffer the consequences.”
    Mara closed her eyes and took a shuddering breath.
If she could stall long enough, Gray would arrive and help her. She just had to
keep this psychopath from harming her anymore or endangering the baby.
    * * * *
    Gray hated leaving Mara’s side, but she looked so
peaceful he didn’t have the heart to disturb her rest. As a consolation, he
left a note so she wouldn’t worry about where he’d gone, and then left the
house to make a quick run back to his own place for clothes and supplies, and
then swung by the bakery for fresh honey nut pastries and the grocers for
produce he planned to cut and toss into a tasty fruit salad. After all, his
pregnant mate was eating for two and needed more than sweets for breakfast. Or
lunch rather, since the clock on the dash of his SUV said it was closing in on
noon by the time he climbed into the vehicle and headed back toward her home.
    He pulled into the driveway and killed the engine.
The house looked as quiet as when he’d left. Hopefully she’d already woken up
because he’d locked the door behind him and hadn’t thought to take her keys
earlier. He collected the bags and carried them up to the front door, where he
knocked and waited. And waited some more.
    Huh. Apparently she was still asleep. She must have
been really worn out to sleep past noon.
    He started around the side of the house to try the
backdoor and was assaulted by an unusual smell. It was musky and pungent, like
sweat and adrenaline. The aroma was light, but unmistakable and out of place.
Someone had been lurking around outside the house. He was sure of it.
    At the first sign of something amiss, the animal
inside him stirred and pawed at the bounds between man and beast. He shoved
down the urge to shift and quickened his pace. Within seconds, he reached the
backdoor and tried the knob. It didn’t budge.
    He inhaled and caught a stronger whiff of the
foreign scent. This time he had no trouble identifying the source. There’d been
a man right where he was standing—a human, who didn’t belong.
    Sending up a silent prayer for forgiveness from
Mara for the vandalism, he called on his bear for strength and twisted the
doorknob until it gave beneath his formidable grip. The screws holding the knob
together snapped and one end of the handle fell off in his palm. He shoved open
the door and rushed forward, anxious to check up on Mara and make sure she was
okay.
    Stepping into the kitchen was like walking into his
worst nightmare. Between one breath and the next, he