Shiftr: Swipe Left for Love (Jessica) BBW Bear Shifter Menage Romance (Hope Valley BBW Dating App Romance Book 8) Read Online Free Page A
high-powered lawyer in London or something. Maybe married to some other high-powered lawyer.”
“She’s not married though is she?” Lucas said.
“I don’t think so. Sounds like she just moved over here by herself. She must be dating though. She’s so goddamn cute.” Lucas raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah?” Christian clicked his tongue.
“Not in that way! She’s like my sister or something. I just meant, objectively, she’s turned into a fine-looking woman.”
“True.”
They continued chatting about Jessica all the way back, but Lucas was keen to get home and have some time by himself to chill out, and he suspected Christian felt the same.
As soon as they were back, they both shifted, their bears bursting out of them eagerly, before heading out into the woods for an afternoon run. Once he was far away from Christian, Lucas’s bear let off an unrestrained roar that echoed through the woods. Jessica! Her name was like a firework in his brain. She felt nothing like a sister to him. He’d been secretly in love with her throughout his teens. When they’d been separated, it had been deeply painful for him, and he’d thought about her more or less constantly for months on end. But the newness of their lives in the US, and his growing awareness that he wasn’t going to return to London created a distance for him. He’d learned to think of her less and less often. And eventually she had taken on a dreamlike quality in his subconscious, along with the rest of his earlier life in England.
But now, the sight of her, standing there in the Shiftr office, looking so sweet and curvy in her rockabilly dress had brought back his youthful passions in full force. If anything, the passage of time had made her even more stunning, turning her teenage prettiness into a lush, womanly beauty. He was almost rendered speechless. The only word that had been emblazoned across his brain was wow . It had taken a supreme effort to control his bear, which was intent on purring at the sight of her, and clawing at his insides. But control it, he had. He would have been mortified if either she or Christian found out how he’d felt about her. She was strictly off-limits. He’d understood that as a teenager with hormones raging through his body, and he understood it now. He was so stunned and grateful to have her back in his life again, and there was no way he’d jeopardize the friendship between the three of them. His bear let out a long, frustrated howl. No , he told it sternly. We’re going to be friends, and that’s all .
Once he’d arrived back home and showered, he stretched out on his bed and picked up his phone. The orange paw-print icon of the Shiftr app sat on his home screen. Right where Jessica had installed it with her dexterous fingers. He was so proud of her for creating a career for herself as a tech developer, just as she’d wanted to, and resisting the pressures her parents had laid on her. He laughed to himself as he thought how excited he’d been on the way to the Shiftr office, how much he’d been looking forward to finding his mate. And how those thoughts had evaporated the second he’d laid eyes on Jessica. No . He had to quit that right now. He opened the Shiftr app. What he needed to do was find himself a mate, and fast. That’s the only way you’ll be able to maintain a friendship with her . But how could he find his mate on Shiftr when he’d already met Jessica, who was perfect in every way? Every thought of her brought a smile to his face – the cute gap between her front teeth; the dimple that appeared in her left cheek when she smiled; the way that she started to talk real fast when she was discussing something she was passionate about. He sighed. He had a lot of work to do. Listlessly, he tapped and scrolled to the personality questionnaire and got started.
*
Christian’s bear bounded through the woods, leaping joyously across streams and over fallen tree trunks. Jessica’s in
“She’s not married though is she?” Lucas said.
“I don’t think so. Sounds like she just moved over here by herself. She must be dating though. She’s so goddamn cute.” Lucas raised an eyebrow.
“Oh yeah?” Christian clicked his tongue.
“Not in that way! She’s like my sister or something. I just meant, objectively, she’s turned into a fine-looking woman.”
“True.”
They continued chatting about Jessica all the way back, but Lucas was keen to get home and have some time by himself to chill out, and he suspected Christian felt the same.
As soon as they were back, they both shifted, their bears bursting out of them eagerly, before heading out into the woods for an afternoon run. Once he was far away from Christian, Lucas’s bear let off an unrestrained roar that echoed through the woods. Jessica! Her name was like a firework in his brain. She felt nothing like a sister to him. He’d been secretly in love with her throughout his teens. When they’d been separated, it had been deeply painful for him, and he’d thought about her more or less constantly for months on end. But the newness of their lives in the US, and his growing awareness that he wasn’t going to return to London created a distance for him. He’d learned to think of her less and less often. And eventually she had taken on a dreamlike quality in his subconscious, along with the rest of his earlier life in England.
But now, the sight of her, standing there in the Shiftr office, looking so sweet and curvy in her rockabilly dress had brought back his youthful passions in full force. If anything, the passage of time had made her even more stunning, turning her teenage prettiness into a lush, womanly beauty. He was almost rendered speechless. The only word that had been emblazoned across his brain was wow . It had taken a supreme effort to control his bear, which was intent on purring at the sight of her, and clawing at his insides. But control it, he had. He would have been mortified if either she or Christian found out how he’d felt about her. She was strictly off-limits. He’d understood that as a teenager with hormones raging through his body, and he understood it now. He was so stunned and grateful to have her back in his life again, and there was no way he’d jeopardize the friendship between the three of them. His bear let out a long, frustrated howl. No , he told it sternly. We’re going to be friends, and that’s all .
Once he’d arrived back home and showered, he stretched out on his bed and picked up his phone. The orange paw-print icon of the Shiftr app sat on his home screen. Right where Jessica had installed it with her dexterous fingers. He was so proud of her for creating a career for herself as a tech developer, just as she’d wanted to, and resisting the pressures her parents had laid on her. He laughed to himself as he thought how excited he’d been on the way to the Shiftr office, how much he’d been looking forward to finding his mate. And how those thoughts had evaporated the second he’d laid eyes on Jessica. No . He had to quit that right now. He opened the Shiftr app. What he needed to do was find himself a mate, and fast. That’s the only way you’ll be able to maintain a friendship with her . But how could he find his mate on Shiftr when he’d already met Jessica, who was perfect in every way? Every thought of her brought a smile to his face – the cute gap between her front teeth; the dimple that appeared in her left cheek when she smiled; the way that she started to talk real fast when she was discussing something she was passionate about. He sighed. He had a lot of work to do. Listlessly, he tapped and scrolled to the personality questionnaire and got started.
*
Christian’s bear bounded through the woods, leaping joyously across streams and over fallen tree trunks. Jessica’s in
Readers choose
Shiloh Walker
Veronica Henry
Denise Hunter
Randall Farmer
Patricia Burns
Betty Webb
Glen Cook
B. B. Roman
John Montesano
Evelyn Adams