Bearing Up In Wolf Rock (A BBW Bear Shifter Romance) (Wolf Rock Shifters) Read Free Page A

bartender’s name. And even if you didn’t, I’d know you were a pack member right away by your eyes.”
    “We’re not good at hiding it, are we?” said Jay.
    “No, not so much. I suspect that’s why there are four thousand people crammed in here like sardines.”
    “You suspect right,” said Jay. “This place isn’t quite as homey as it used to be.”
    “And how does your pack feel about that?”
    “Funny; my friend and I were just talking about that. Why don’t you come join us? She’d very much like to meet you.”
    W ith that, Jay nodded his head towards the table where the female shifter sat, curious and mortified at once. Jesus, Jay, what are you doing? she thought.
    The gorgeous man turned and looked at Kyla, who was nervously curling a strand of hair around her index finger. She tried to look straight ahead but found her eyes veering of their own volition towards the stranger. She couldn’t help but smile at him. Thankfully, he smiled back, one corner of his mouth lifting higher than the other to form a disarmingly crooked grin. A dimple formed on his stubbled right cheek.
    “You. Are. Perfect,” thought Kyla.
    “Your friend would like to meet me, would she?” said the man to Jay.
    “Well, she hasn’t said it in so many words, but I can read her like a book.”
    “Very pretty book. Nice cover.”
    “She’s not bad, no. And she’s smart, too. And you should see her in wolf form. Meow.”
    “ Though I don’t think that’s the sound wolves make, I’ll just say that seals the deal. You’ll have to introduce us…um…”
    “Jay.”
    “Jay. I’m Maddox.”
    The two took their beers from the bar and walked back to Kyla. She could smell the stranger acutely now; it was a scent that she wasn’t familiar with. Musky, but different from the men of her pack. Whatever it was, she liked it and found herself flushing. She wondered if it was possible for men who weren’t shifters to find women of her shape appealing.
    “Kyla Greene, I’d like you to meet Maddox,” said Jay, winking at his friend who was seething with rage at his cockiness. This was quickly replaced by a giddiness at having the delicious-smelling god so close by.
    “Nice to meet you, Kyla Greene,” said the broad-chested beast of a male.
    “And you, Maddox,” she replied. As she did so, she ran a few fingers through her long hair and cursed herself when they got caught up in a knot. Always the smooth operator.
    “So you’re another wolf,” Maddox said as he slid into the booth opposite her.
    “I am. In sheep’s clothing, ” she said, pulling at her light wool sweater. As she did so, she realized that it might appear that she was trying to show off her cleavage.
    Stop fidgeting, Kyla, she told herself, feeling less like a confident woman than usual and more like a starry-eyed girl.
    She could see his chest now, his tanned skin decorated with the strange tribal-looking black marks, jagged points and spirals; beautiful decorations on his beautiful body.
    His pectoral muscles created a definition whic h reminded her of statues of perfectly-sculpted men that she’d seen.
    “Well, let me shake the sheep’s hand and we can make this a formal introduction,” said Maddox.
    Kyla realized that he’d been extending his own hand to her for a while now, and she took it in hers.
    He was hot to the touch, as though he’d just had his palm wrapped around a hot cup of tea. As her more delicate fingers grasped his strong ones, she froze. Her mind was exploding in a quick series of internal images. It was like what she imagined happening when one’s life flashed before their eyes; events unfolding in rapid succession. But they were a confused jumble of images; the visions made no sense: an injured animal in the woods. A kiss. A man in a light-coloured jacket. A crying woman. Happiness, sadness, pain, grief all in one split-second.
    Kyla felt winded.
    “Oh my God,” she said as she gasped for breath, realizing that no one else had