Read Online The Playboy Bear's Baby: BBW Paranormal Shape Shifter Romance by Marlie Monroe - Free Book Online

you, I can always go back out and fetch something else.”
    “No
need. Chinese food sound fantastic. I’ll go grab some plates and utensils.”
    “I
can help.” He followed her into the kitchen and helped set the table. “What do
you have to drink? I forgot to bring that.”
    Mara
opened the refrigerator and looked inside. She glanced over her shoulder at
him. “I have water, milk, and juice.”
    “Water’s
good.”
    “All
right.” She pulled out two bottles of water, carried them over, and set one
next to each plate.
    They
sat across from each other and took turns filling their plates. Once he was
finished, Gray took a drink of water and looked over at her. “So, you said you
were boxing up your grandma’s stuff today? You weren’t lifting anything heavy,
right? I read somewhere you’re not supposed to lift anything over ten or
fifteen pounds when you’re pregnant.”
    “Don’t
worry. I didn’t hurt myself or the baby by lifting boxes filled with old
clothes and accessories.” She shoved a forkful of fried rice into her mouth and
chewed.
    “Just
checking. I know you can take care of yourself, but it’s in my nature to
worry.”
    “It’s
okay. I get it. I’m the same way. Grandma used to call me her little
worrywart.”
    “That’s
cute. I can almost picture you as a precocious little kid. I bet I could find
photos of you if I looked hard enough. Maybe even a stash of those naked
bathtub pictures all parents hoard to embarrass their kids when they’re grown.”
    “You
could, but then I’d have to kill you.”
    Gray
laughed. “Those pics must be bad if you’re escalating to threats so fast.”
    “You’ll
never find out.”
    “We’ll
see about that.” He popped a potsticker in his mouth. “I’m totally on board with
taking embarrassing pictures of our own kids, by the way. We have to carry on
the tradition.”
    Her
expression turned thoughtful. “Our kids, huh?”
    “Yep.”
    “What
makes you think there will ever be more than this one?”
    “Just
a gut feeling.” He sipped his water. “I’d like to have two or three kids. Maybe
more.”
    “I
don’t know about that. I can’t really think beyond the baby I’m carrying now.”
    “That’s
okay. We have plenty of time.”
    “Speaking
of the baby, I’ve been meaning to ask you whether or not this one will be human
like me or a shifter like you? What are the odds?”
    “The
shifter gene is dominant. If you’re carrying a boy, chances are good he’ll be a
shifter. If it’s a girl, she’ll be a carrier of the gene and pass it down to
her male children.”
    “So
there aren’t any female shifters?”
    “No.
Males are the only ones who’re born with an animal spirit.”
    “Huh.
That doesn’t seem fair.”
    He
shrugged. “It is what it is.”
    They
finished eating and Gray helped put away the leftovers and clean up. As they were
finishing up, Mara turned to him. “Do you want to stick around for a while? We
could rent something from pay per view.”
    “Sure,”
he said, trying to sound as casual as possible, while inside his bear was
wiggling with glee. “I could do that.”
    She
smiled over at him. “I can make some popcorn if you want.”
    “That
sounds really good.”
    “Okay.”
She dried her hands off on one of the two hand towels by the sink. “I’ll pop
some in the microwave if you’ll grab a couple of drinks out of the fridge.”
    He
nodded and hopped into action. Three minutes later they were sitting on the
living room sofa in front of the television watching some kind of new romantic
comedy. He didn’t care. He was paying more attention to the woman next to him
than what was playing on the TV anyway.
    Thirty
minutes in, she snuggled up beside him and rested her head on his shoulder. He
was in heaven. He put his arm around her and inhaled the sweet, floral scent of
her hair. Contentment settled deep in his core. The bear inside him rumbled in
approval. He could’ve happily sat there all night, holding her in