Page 2 of Theirs

A sympathetic smile graced Susie’s face and he froze as she spoke in musical tones. “Don’t apologize. Go to your son. Family should be your first priority. I’m a childcare worker, so I know kids want their mums when they get sick.” Susie stood up from her seat and smiled, and Brian swore his whole world got brighter. Perfect, white, shiny teeth, a dimple on each cheek, and oh, her brown eyes sparkled. “How about I just come back tomorrow?”

“No, no, I can look after you.” The words came out of his mouth before he even realized he’d intended to say anything. She glanced his way and her smile slipped. She looked him up and down. He straightened to his full six-five and relaxed his face, as he’d been told regularly his face could be too serious, and he didn’t want to ever scare his mate. As the word “mate” resonated through his mind, his lips curled up into a huge grin. Susie was his mate. Well, that explained why he was attracted to her. He was one of the lucky few shifters who found their true mate. Many shifters didn’t find their true mate. Only a little over half did, so many settled for a shifter of their own kind as it was the only way they could have children. Most waited for their true mate, the one who was their other half, their soul mate. He loved Matty, but to have one or a couple of children of his own would be nice. He’d always said he would never give in to his mother like his sister Gwen, and mate someone who wasn’t his true mate. Brian and his brothers all felt the same after seeing how unhappy his sister was.

His sister raised an eyebrow at him, shrugged, and turned back to Susie. “If it’s okay with you, my brother can sign you up. He knows the drill.”

Susie hesitated, nodded, and sat back down again. His sister kissed his cheek, and then moved so she hovered over his ear and whispered, “I’ll call you later.” Before Gwen walked out to collect her stuff from their office upstairs, she paused at the door. “It’s nice to meet you, Susie. I look forward to seeing you again, and thanks for understanding.” Susie nodded to Gwen before she walked away.

Sitting down in the seat his sister vacated, Brian looked at the screen to see the start-up survey to determine what type of membership fit a person best was blank. Clearing his suddenly dry throat, he stared at the face now studying him. “So, where was my sister up to with you?”

The pink covered her cheeks again as she answered. “We’d just started. Gwen asked me what type of membership I wanted. Um, I would like a personal trainer to help me keep my focus and reach my goal weight. Maybe a Zumba class twice a week as well.”

He nodded. “Okay, so what’s your main goal? What do you want to gain from coming to our gym? From what you just said, you have a goal weight. How long have you given yourself to reach your target weight?” Thinking about it, he wouldn’t mind having something to hold on to while he loved his woman for a change. His brother always told him the reason he only slept with women once, was because he wasn’t going for the right type of woman for a big healthy shifter.

Her brows furrowed for a moment, before she answered, “To tell you the truth, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead. Once I have a trainer, I will talk goals and stuff with her.” He couldn’t hold in the chuckle as the ‘her’ was drawn out and louder than the rest.

She glowered at him, and he grinned as a plan formed in his mind. “You came in on the perfect day. We’re running a special, six months’ membership for the price of one year, and if you sign up today, you’ll get a personal trainer twice a week.” He gave her their six-month membership price and knew his sister would try to kill him when she found out what he did, but Brian, in his thirty-six years, had never had an instant attraction to a woman. Sure, he’d lusted after many, even thought he’d loved one once, but a woman had never consumed his thoughts from the moment he met her like Susie did. She was his mate. It explained why she smelt like his favorite food and he found her gorgeous when usually he wouldn’t even glance her way. His cock hadn’t deflated since he saw her. He wasn’t going to let her get away.

Susie nodded. “All right, can I read over the contract? If everything is okay, I will pay today, so I can start ASAP.” He nodded as he made the changes he needed to the contract and printed it out before handing it to her.

She grabbed the contract. Her hand brushed his, further confirming that she was his mate when the tension in the room seem to double. She shivered, and her mango and honey scent intensified. His bear come to the forefront growling at him to throw their mate over his shoulder, take her to their home, and show her all the benefits of being with a bear shifter.

He watched as she read through the pages, using them to try and hide every time she looked at him. Susie bit her lip. Brian swore when he couldn’t sit anymore with the tightness in his pants, thanks to his dick being painfully hard against his jeans. He stood, adjusted himself, and noticed her eyes never left his crotch.

She signed the contract without even looking at the rest and stood slowly. “Um, I better go now.” She mumbled. “Nice meeting you. I look forward to starting with one of your f-e-m-a-l-e personal trainers.” She took a step back and he stepped around the desk.

He couldn’t help the wide toothy grin that spread over his face as she again stated that she wanted a female, and not him, as a trainer. When he reached for her hand, she avoided his touch only to trip on a chair and fall into his chest. A whimper escaped her as his hands came around her. “Careful, honey.”

She lingered for a moment or two, before pulling away from him and rushing out of the room, grumbling, “Thanks.”

Tomorrow would be a long day, but if he had a say in it, it would end on a high note. He looked over at the object of his desire, and images of the perfect way to exercise flashed across his mind. He knew a stupid smile spread over his face, but he didn’t care.

****

With a bounce in her step, Susie strolled through her townhouse front door. She couldn’t wait to get started tomorrow afternoon. It worked out perfectly. She would meet with her personal trainer at five o’clock to have her first half-hour session. She’d have time to buy some much needed workout clothes.

She called her friends and planned Saturday night out to celebrate her new fitness kick. Satisfied with her day and bursting with ideas, she went to her computer to write with a new lead character in mind. A tall man, olive-skinned, sky blue-eyed, with midnight black hair and big kissable lips. The perfect hero for her next book.

Chapter Two

Five minutes early, Susie walked into Healthy Bodies in her new black yoga pants, sports bra, and a white baggy T-shirt over the top. She was ready to start her new fitness regime. A pretty teenage girl sat at the reception desk this time. She smiled at Susie. “Hello, welcome to Healthy Bodies. What can I do to help you today?”

Susie was pleasantly surprised by the young girl’s professionalism. “Hi, my name is Susie. I joined yesterday and was told to come here for a locker key.” The girl nodded and handed her a key from under the reception desk.

“I’m Tayler. It’s nice to meet you. Would you like me to show you where to go, or did they show you yesterday?”

Susie smiled at Tayler. “Thank you. That would be great. I left yesterday without asking for a tour. Silly, I know, but I was happy I actually joined and didn’t chicken out.” Well, I also wanted to get out of the room before I did something stupid in front of the handsomest man I’d ever seen and throw myself at him. He’d been the best inspiration she’d ever had and motivated her to write the greatest number of words on a new book. He was an amazing muse.

Laughing, the girl walked out from behind the desk. “No, you’re fine. You would be surprised at how many people do that.”

Susie bet she wouldn’t be. All they had to do was see Brian and they would willingly sign anything, because that’s what she’d done. Susie didn’t want to admit she didn’t even ask for a tour.

“How about I take you to the locker room?” Tayler asked.

Susie nodded and followed the girl.

Susie put her bag in a locker and followed Tayler out. “So, do you work here often?”

The girl giggled. “Not as often as I would like. I’m doing my HSC this year. I’ve cut back on some week days so I can study, but I try to get as many shifts as I can, especially on the weekend because it’s the busiest. The owner is always in, and it’s worth coming to work just to look at him.”

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