Bear Pause (BBW / Bear Shifter Romance): A Billionaire Oil Bearons Romance (Bear Fursuits Book 6) Read online

  Table of Contents

  COPYRIGHT

  BOOKS BY ISADORA MONTROSE

  SEXY SNEAK PEEK

  BEAR PAUSE

  CHAPTER ONE

  CHAPTER TWO

  CHAPTER THREE

  CHAPTER FOUR

  CHAPTER FIVE

  CHAPTER SIX

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  CHAPTER EIGHT

  CHAPTER NINE

  CHAPTER TEN

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  CHAPTER TWELVE

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  CHAPTER FOURTEEN

  CHAPTER FIFTEEN

  CHAPTER SIXTEEN

  CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

  CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

  CHAPTER NINETEEN

  CHAPTER TWENTY

  CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO

  CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

  CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN

  ABOUT THE AUTHOR

  ALSO BY ISADORA MONTROSE

  Bear Pause ©Copyright Isadora Montrose 2016

  Cover Art by Resplendent Media ©Copyright 2016

  This is a work of fiction. All characters, places and events are from the author’s imagination and should not be confused with fact. Any resemblance to persons, living or dead, events or places is purely coincidental.

  All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any material form, whether by printing, photocopying, scanning or otherwise without the written permission of the author, Isadora Montrose.

  Warning: This book contains sexually explicit content which is only suitable for mature readers.

  Books by Isadora Montrose

  Bear Necessities

  Bear Possibilities

  Bear Affinities

  Bear Infinities

  Bear Fursuits Books 1-4

  Bear Cubs for Christmas (available only in Bear Fursuits Books 1-4 Bundle)

  Bearly Begun

  Bearly Enough

  Bearly Ever

  Bearly Forever

  Bearly Beloved

  Bear Skin: A Billionaire Oil Bearons Romance

  Dragon’s Treasure

  Dragon’s Successor

  Brides for the Bachelor Bears Books 0-4 Bundle

  Bearly a Bride (available in Brides for the Bachelor Bears and Hot Shifter Nights)

  Dragon’s Pleasure

  Bear Pause: A Billionaire Oil Bearons Romance

  Amazon Author Page: https://amazon.com/author/isadoramontrose

  SEXY SNEAK PEEK

  Steve pulled back his questing tongue and nibbled gently at Laura’s lower lip instead, enjoying the softness of her bosom pressing into the hardness of his pecs. Her nipples were hard beads telling him she was either cold or turned on. He hoped it was the latter, but he wanted to take no chances. He trailed kisses to her earlobes and nuzzled behind her ear seeking the elemental fragrance he knew lurked there.

  She pushed gently at his chest and he let her go at once. Even in the dim lighting, he could tell she was beet red.

  “I don’t know what came over me,” she said in a tight voice.

  He brushed the side of her face. “Don’t you?” he whispered.

  “I don’t do things like this.” Her voice was tremulous.

  “Like what?” he teased.

  “Inappropriate things – like taking advantage of an employee,” she said huskily.

  “Hmm. I won’t tell if you don’t.”

  She pointed at the video camera. “It’s all on tape,” she said.

  “So it is. I guess I’ve compromised us both.” He smiled down into her embarrassed face. “But I’m not sorry I kissed you.”

  She swallowed hard. “Anyone could see that footage.”

  He doubted anyone would bother to waste time going over it, since nothing bad had happened. Who wanted to watch while a foal was given an enema to help it expel the tarry residue from its gut? But Laura was plainly embarrassed and worried.

  “Why don’t we go discuss this in the tack room?” he said. “No camera in there.”

  He thought she looked scared for just a second. But she nodded and headed briskly for the little room. Steve sauntered after her admiring her from the back. Laura filled out her jeans better than any woman he had ever met. She stopped in the doorway and he looked over her shoulder at the cot with its rumpled blanket.

  “Excuse me,” he said and went past her to remake the bed with military precision. He sat down and patted the spot beside him.

  She shook her head, as skittish as that newborn foal. Her eyes were luminous and her face resolute. “I talked to my cousin about you.”

  “Which one?” he asked. “You have a pile of cousins, Miss Laura.”

  “Zeke.” Her voice was a scratchy whisper.

  “What did the major have to say?”

  “He said you could be trusted.”

  Steve nodded. “That’s why I gave him as a reference. Are you going to trust me?”

  “I don’t know. Why did you kiss me?”

  “Because I wanted to.” He gestured to his crotch. “Couldn’t you tell?” he teased.

  Her eyes widened a little. The vivid blue irises were just a thin circle around her dilated pupils. Steve got up and went towards her. “I knew the first time I saw you. Don’t you feel it too?”

  “Feel what?” she asked suspiciously.

  “Sparks? Fireworks? The bear bond?” he suggested.

  “You know I’m a bear?” She sounded appalled.

  “Well, sure. You smell like a bear. Of course I know.”

  “I smell?” Her voice was mortified.

  “Delicious. Female. Like my mate.” He moved to where she hovered uncertainly by the doorway.

  “Oh.”

  He kissed her again, holding himself in check. She stiffened, but under his gentle assault her lips softened and she kissed him back. He took his time learning the contours of her mouth before he begged for entrance. She opened reluctantly. He paused to suck lightly on her bottom lip, tasting its fullness, before he slid his tongue softly against hers. Beneath her plaid shirt, her breasts firmed and the nipples poked at him, again.

  Steve angled her head so he could better enjoy her warm, spicy taste. He sampled the delicate tissues in front of her teeth and played inside her cheeks. Her own tongue tangled shyly with his for long minutes before he could lure it into his mouth for its own exploration. The feel of her tongue probing was exciting. He wanted to grab that soft muscle and suck hard, but he restrained himself. Laura needed patience. She was uncertain and he knew, without knowing how, that if he rushed her, he would lose her.

  Gradually she rested more of her weight against him. He reveled in the feel of all that soft womanliness pressed against his body. He allowed his hands to caress her shoulders. Her own delicious aroma warmed and perfumed his nostrils. He pulled the rich scent into his lungs and hoped he wouldn’t explode in his jeans.

  The stood together, necking tenderly for a long time. Someplace a rooster heralded the dawn. Laura seemed to become aware of what they were doing. Well, a tack room was no place for a lady. She pulled away and tried to speak.

  “You want me.” It was a question, so he nodded.

  She seemed to need more so he spoke. “I sure do.” He gestured to his straining zipper.

  She looked at her wrist but it was bare. “What time is it?”

  He glanced at his watch. “Fou
r forty-two.”

  “The hands will be here at five,” she said panicked.

  “They will,” he kept his eyes on her flushed face. “I have to stay until Lance comes. Do you want to go wait for me in my cabin?”

  Her throat moved. Her eyes were a little wild, but she nodded.

  “It isn’t locked. I’ll be along as soon as Lance gets here.” He pointed to the monitor which showed Star and Hero curled up together in a single grayish lump.

  “Okay.” She moved off to retrieve her parka and he saw her go into the foaling stall for another check of Star and Hero. Star raised her head but did not attempt to rise. Laura slipped out, latching the stall door behind her. She disappeared out the door.

  Well, now. Was he going to have himself a tryst?

  BEAR PAUSE

  A BILLIONAIRE OIL BEARONS ROMANCE

  BOOK 6

  BEAR FURSUITS

  by

  Isadora Montrose

  CHAPTER ONE

  “I’m busy just now, Piper. Why don’t you just tell me what you want and why you’re here?” Cousin Piper was grinding her six-inch stiletto heels into Laura Bascom’s last nerve, but she fought to keep her voice non-combative and her face impassive. Don’t engage.

  It didn’t work. Piper draped her pencil-thin body languidly over the chair opposite Laura’s desk and settled in. “I have just as much right to be here as you do.” Her voice was a shrill challenge. “Mr. Thompson said so.”

  Laura took in the layers of eyeshadow and the heavy black fan of false lashes. She reminded herself that Piper was only twenty. And a young twenty at that. “How do you figure that?” She lowered her pitch to see if what calmed horses would also calm her high-strung relative.

  “Nolan and I have the reversion to the Double B when you die,” Piper insisted. She crossed her arms over her chest. “Mr. Thompson and my lawyer say that means we have an interest in the day to day management of the stud and the ranch.”

  “Do they?” Laura picked up a handful of the papers on her desk, and began to sort through them. She absolutely did not want to discuss what the executors of Granddaddy Clive’s will had or had not said to Piper. “I’m kind of busy right now.”

  “They do,” Piper insisted. “And if I’m going to inherit this dump I want to know that it’s being run properly.” Her eyes swept the office, and her collagen-enhanced lips tried and failed to sneer.

  Laura was resigned to her office failing to meet Piper’s expectations. The walls sported a coat of beige paint that hadn’t been refreshed in her lifetime. The furniture was secondhand. But her framed awards and certificates, and the rows of professional photos of her champion Quarter Horses, satisfied whatever limited design sense she possessed.

  Under her management, the Bascom Stud had ceased to be a money-pit, but she pumped every penny of profit into the stables and the horses in them. She reserved her pride for the state-of-the-art stable block, and the immaculate training rings they surrounded. The office wasn’t even on her list.

  She counted to ten in her head with deliberate slowness. One elephant. Two elephants. At ten elephants, she marshaled the semblance of a smile. “Listen up, kiddo, Granddaddy Clive has been dead for over a year, and his will hasn’t even gone through probate yet. And with all the fuss you and Nolan are making, it may not for another couple of years.” She paused to let that fact penetrate Piper’s self-absorption.

  “The more times you drag me and the rest of the family into court, the slower the process will be. You have to just let things be. Granddaddy left you and Nolan your fair share of his estate. You’ll get it quicker if you stop fussing.”

  Piper opened her mouth to respond. Laura held up one hand and cut her off. “Lawyer or no lawyer, you have no say at all in either the ranch or the stud. For a start, the Bascom Quarter Horse Stud is my property. Lock, stock and barrel. And no lawyer told you any different.”

  Piper attempted another petulant squeak, but Laura’s fierce gaze silenced her. “The Quarter Horse Stud may sit on Double B land, but I own the buildings. Same for the horses. I pay rent to the Double B.”

  “But,” Piper squeaked.

  “And I have the paperwork to prove it, Piper. Granddaddy Clive couldn’t leave you and Nolan the Bascom Stud, because it wasn’t his to leave. Moreover, he left me the Double B for at least my lifetime. I may have to answer to trustees, but not to you. Not now. Not ever.”

  Piper’s narrow face flushed crimson. She uncrossed her legs and crossed them the other way. She examined her French manicure rather than meet Laura’s eyes. Apparently her examination of her talons renewed her confidence, for she continued, “My lawyer says that if you don’t marry and have a child, the ranch comes to Nolan and me. That does so give me a say.”

  “You and Nolan may inherit – when and if I die, Piper.” Laura spread her arms wide. “Emphasis on the may. I am thirteen years older than you, but that makes me thirty-three, not a hundred and three. Just what makes you think I won’t marry and have a kid in the next eighteen months? Or outlive both you and Nolan?”

  Piper’s eyes ran over Laura’s body and narrowed. She tossed her artfully arranged blonde hair and smirked. Laura waited for today’s ration of spite. “It doesn’t seem likely. Men don’t want fat women.” Piper paused before thrusting home the knife. “Mom says you’re a lesbian, anyway.”

  Laura rose to her full six foot. She leaned forward with her hands on her hips. Piper plastered her spine against the back of her chair. “You just crossed a line, Piper Belington. Go on home. To Denver. Or Manhattan. Or Los Angeles. Or Chicago. I. Don’t. Fricking. Care. Just so I don’t find you underfoot again. Don’t come back until you’ve learned some better manners.”

  Piper got to her feet, wobbling a little in the skintight boots that encased her legs to the knee. Laura could only hope her cousin would topple into a snowbank on the way out. Who the hell wore six-inch heels in fricking Colorado? On an honest-to-god cattle ranch that was still cleaning up from a spring blizzard? And this was the nitwit Granddaddy had picked to inherit the ranch if she didn’t fulfill his conditions?

  * * *

  “How’s it going, little bro?” Steve Holden asked. He assessed Brandon’s tired features with expert eyes. Weary, but not exhausted. It other words, still good to go. The uninformative corrugated steel of a Quonset hut was all that could be seen behind his younger brother’s head. Brandon could have been anywhere. Steve knew his brother was deployed somewhere in Syria, but he knew better than to ask exactly where. “Have you got any news?”

  Brandon’s grin lit up his eyes and banished his look of fatigue. Even with tonight’s crappy video feed, Steve could see his happiness. “The Rangers accepted me,” he bragged.

  Envy and pride warred with anxiety. For a couple of fraught moments, Steve didn’t trust his voice. Then pride won. He swallowed hard and grinned back. “Congrats!” he said. “Does Mom know?”

  “Not yet.” Brandon shrugged and his desert camo briefly appeared in the tight shot. “Gotta admit I am not looking forward to that conversation.”

  “She’ll understand,” Steve lied. Mom wasn’t wild about both his kid brothers being deployed at the same time. Brandon’s acceptance into the elite Army corps would ramp up her worry about his twin Ryan even more. “She’ll be proud. Dad too.”

  Brandon chuckled wryly. “Pull the other one. She’ll flip her wig,” he corrected. “If she wore one. She just got you safely stateside, Steve, and now I’m not just deployed, I’m about to start training for the same job your team got blown up doing.” He sighed. “You know I have to do this, don’t you?”

  “I do.” Steve acknowledged. “Joint Forces was the biggest rush. Even after three years, I still miss it, and maybe I always will.” He chuckled to cover the awkwardness he was feeling. “You know we Holdens live for danger. You’ll look good in a green beret, little brother. And America needs what we Holdens have to give.”

  Brandon nodded once, and changed the subject, which was ce
rtainly not one for a monitored line. “I hear the Bascoms have come looking for you, bro,” he said. “What’s up with that? Mom said that you got a letter from some high octane law firm. Ryan says you got an inheritance.” He dragged out the syllables for comic effect.

  But Steve didn’t laugh. He glared into the screen as if Brandon had sent that insulting letter from Thompson, Thompson and Willis. “Yeah. Seems my birth father’s grandpa died and left me money – if I can fucking prove I’m his genetic descendant.”

  That wiped the grin off Brandon’s face. “Mom and Kenneth Bascom were married long before you were born. You’re his legal son. Mom would never have cheated on her husband. Any husband.”

  “Don’t I know it! So you can see how I don’t fancy proving that I have Bascom DNA. But there’s a shitload of money involved.” Steve’s voice hardened, despite his resolve to keep this conversation light.

  “What does Dad say?”

  “That nothing I do would ever make me not his son. Which is true. I was his son long before he adopted me. The Bascoms treated Mom like dirt when Kenneth Bascom died. She wrote to tell them he had been killed on maneuvers. Some lawyer wrote back to say that if she could prove I was his son, the Bascoms would take me off her hands.”

  “Jesus.” Brandon whistled. “I never knew that. Cold as an Idaho February.”

  “Mom only told me when I told her about the letter.” Steve figured his face was as stiff as Brandon’s had become. “I mean, I knew there was bad feeling between her and her first husband’s family, but not how bad. Those sons of bitches. I’m not sure I want their fucking money.”

  “How much money are we talking about, Steve?”

  “You ever hear of B&B Oil?” Steve replied.

  “Of course. Did your great-grandfather have some connection to B&B?”

  “He was B&B,” Steve said. “Founded it. Held one hundred percent of the shares. Apparently, if I satisfy his lawyers, I get two percent.”

  “Not a lot to make up for that level of assholery, bro. What would that work out to?”

  “Thirty, forty, fucking millions, boyo.”