Liam's Bride: BBW Werebear Romance (Clan Conroy Brides Book 1) by Emma Alisyn

chewed on an apple cinnamon muffin.
    "I need to wash up," she said, rising to her feet, unabashedly naked.
    He rose with her. "There's a fast moving stream a quarter mile from here if you want to rough it."
    That sounded... nice. Picturesque. She wrapped a towel around her body, stuffed her feet into her slip on walking shoes and carried her toiletry bag. They walked at a brisk pace- well, she walked at a brisk pace trying to keep up with Liam’s strides. He slowed his pace after he noticed her trotting, slapping her on the ass with muttered, "shorty."
    The stream was the width of two Liam’s. She waded knee deep, folding the towel on a rock and carrying her soap into the water, spending a few minutes washing her sticky parts, enjoying the cold water bath.
    Liam handed her a small bottle of water to brush her teeth, having anticipated her hesitance at rinsing her mouth with stream water. When she was clean and dry and her hair brushed out, he straightened from his slouch against a nearby tree.
    "You said you wanted to see Bear," he said.
    She stilled, looking at him, seeing the move of muscle under his face, the slow swelling of his shoulders as he undressed, eyes holding hers. Her heart kicked into high gear.
    "Won’t hurt you," he said, voice deepening. And then he... shifted, hands morphing into huge paws, back bending and twisting, haunches forming out of thighs as fur sprouted along his body. Faster and faster until the changes were so quick she couldn’t follow them with her eyes.
    His size took her breath away, a full ten feet when he rose tall on hind legs, chest wide and head thrown back. He fell forward onto four legs, the weight of him sending a small shockwave through the ground. She stumbled back a few steps, instinctively afraid. He stilled, head tilted, and waited.
    Meredith controlled her fear, knowing that if she couldn’t deal with this side of his nature, their relationship was doomed. Sunlight gleamed on glossy brown; black fur, dark eyes watching her with a calm intelligence no mere animal possessed.
    She walked forward, forcing her feet to move one step at a time, remembering that this was the man whose body shed accepted into her own, multiple times and in multiple ways. The man who her heart was accepting. Her hands reached out, burying themselves in the fur around his neck.
    “Oh my,” she breathed. “This would come in real handy in the winter.”
    His nose bumped her shoulder.
    “Ow.”
    He began to shift. She backed away, uncertain of her ability to not freak out if she stood that close during the process. It wasn’t like it was every day she watched a man turn into a Bear and vice versa. Television always made it look so… romantic.
    “Are you okay?” he asked when he stood before her, lean muscled body gleaming in the sunlight.
    Meredith licked her lips. “Yeah, I’m okay. You’re beautiful, you know. It will just take some getting used to.”
    He held out a hand. She went to him, taking the hand so he could draw her into the circle of his arms. His nose buried in her neck, chest expanding as he inhaled. She felt the growing jut of his erection against her middle and laughed, relaxing.
    “You aren’t a Bear, you’re a rabbit.”
    “Let me convince you otherwise.”
    And he did.
     
     
     
    She would have loved to spend the entire day with Liam, but she couldn’t afford to cancel her classes. At twelve dollars per thirty minute class, the money added up pretty fast if she booked students back to back for four to five hours in a row. She texted her father a quick message while Liam drove her home, making sure Harvey wasn't in the apartment. When he replied that he was out, she exhaled a sigh of relief.
    Liam glanced at her curiously. "Penny?"
    "I was checking up on my schedule," she lied. "I wasn't sure what time my first class was today- but I'm good."
    "Good." He pulled up into the parking lot, turned off the engine and hesitated. She frowned at him, at the odd sideways