Bear Shapeshifter Romance: Her Bears' Desires (Shapeshifter Werebear Romance)(BBW Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance)(Shapeshifter Menage Romance) Read Free Page B

so handsome.
     
    "He will be fine," he replied evenly. "Victor only gets aggressive when he gets protective."
     
    "Protective? It sure didn't look like he was protecting you," she responded.
     
    "Like I said before, we just had an argument. It's not exactly orthodox for werebears to affiliate themselves too much with humans," Mack explained as he turned the truck's wheel, navigating carefully down the twisting road.
     
    "Werebears? Is that what you call yourselves?"
     
    Mack nodded.
     
    "So... how does that happen? Do you get bitten, or... or are you born that way?"
     
    He paused and glanced at her, smiling thinly.
     
    "What?" Jazzy demanded.
     
    "You're taking this werebear business rather well for a human," he uttered, amusement at the corners of his lips.
     
    Jazzy felt herself flush some, though she wasn't sure why. "Well, it's not normal, at least to me, but I'm not about to just shrug something like that off and pretend it didn't happen."
     
    Mack gave another nod, this time out of understanding. "No, that's something that someone scared would do."
     
    "I'm not saying I'm not scared of you now," she retorted, clutching her purse tightly in her lap.
     
    "Oh?" He shot her another look, this time letting it linger as he swept his eyes up and down her body. "Are you really scared of me, Jasmine?"
     
    A positive tingle enveloped her skin, and she swallowed from the intimidating scan of his eyes. "I don't know."
     
    The car ride was silent for a time after that. Jazzy felt slightly awkward from the ending to the conversation, so she huddled in her seat and waited until Mack had parked outside Carboni's. The sun had set quite some time ago, causing the little town of Mountain Pass to light up with old-fashioned street lamps and luminescent windows of nearby buildings. Carboni's parking lot was a little emptier than it had been at five o'clock.
     
    Mack stepped out of the truck, and Jazzy followed him inside the restaurant. Once seated in a booth tucked away in a corner, she finally unfolded herself and placed her purse beside her. She didn't feel much more comfortable, but the slight distance between her and Mack helped her think a little clearer. After witnessing the bear fight, she wasn't so sure she felt hungry, but a quick glance at the menu brought her appetite back.
     
    Once they'd ordered, Mack clasped his hands on the table surface and leaned in some, gazing at her with those amber eyes. "I really want to keep you as a model, Jasmine."
     
    She shook her head. "You're not going to lose me. I really enjoyed the photo shoot we did yesterday, and I..." She caught herself before running on, about to mention the exciting dream she'd had. What a mistake that would have been.
     
    "And you...?" he pressed.
     
    She cleared her throat. "And I really was looking forward to more opportunities to model for you. You and Victor are very nice, as well as your seamstress and makeup artist. Are... Are they bears, too?"
     
    Mack smiled a little and shook his head this time. "No, not them. Just Victor and I. We've been close friends for quite a number of years, but people like us don't usually make any other friends outside the bear clans."
     
    "I see," she uttered.
     
    Their food arrived only a short time later. The immensely unoccupied space in the restaurant proved that their meals were made fast without any additional orders stalling the process. As the server placed a small salad in front of Jazzy, Mack gave it a bizarre look.
     
    "What is that?" he asked while the server set down a large steak in front of him. A true meal fit for a man of his size, probably including his bear side.
     
    Jazzy looked at the pile of leaves and cherry tomatoes in front of her. "It's a salad," she answered slowly.
     
    "That's it?"
     
    "What do you mean 'that's it?'"
     
    Mack's eyebrow raised as he leaned back some, picking up his fork. "You won't get full from eating that."
     
    "That's the idea," Jazzy answered quietly. "I've