Bearly Living: Foxhollow Den #1 (Alaskan Den Men) Read Free Page A

walked past Samantha and into the café’s kitchen.
    Samantha leaned against a table. “Were you just making out with a Wright?”
    Bobbie glanced at her hands. No itching this time. No residual effects from her outburst. No bear trying to break through and wreck everything. “That Wright just kissed the shift out of me.”
    She trotted to the kitchen and out the back door. Grant had almost made it out of the alley when she called to him. “Hey.”
    He stopped, but he didn’t turn around. “Thanks for the steak.”
    “Can we do it again?” she asked, hating the anxious tone of her voice.
    He faced her, his expression serious. “No.”
    “Why not?”
    A heavy, exaggerated sigh lifted his chest up and down. “Our families don’t mix.”
    “Why? Because of some stupid land dispute?”
    He crossed his arms. “Yes.”
    “I bet you don’t even know where that strip of land is,” she said, mimicking his stance.
    His defensive posture slackened. “Of course I do.”
    “Good. Pick me up at nine this evening, and you can show it to me. I’ll pack us a dessert.”

 
     
     
Chapter Three
     
     
    The picnic basket filled with a variety of donuts reeked of desperation. Bobbie took back the thought. The s’mores-inspired donuts smelled delicious. The bottle of red wine, thick picnic blanket, plus the lack of bra and panties under her light blue cotton shift were what pushed her to a new level of desperate.
    Ugh. She disliked that word with deep passion. Desperate .
    Ever since her mom divorced her bear-shifter dad and refused to acknowledge Bobbie’s bear side, Bobbie had a growing ball of anger in the pit of her stomach that allowed her bear to break free more and more frequently. Even stubbing her big toe caused an episode. She loved working in advertising in Florida. Even more than that, she loved being around people. Normal people. Over the past few years she’d wrecked several personal and professional relationships. All because of the bear inside.
    The thing that made her abnormal. And she was desperate to keep that thing locked away.
    Grant had stopped the bear-isode with a single kiss. Think of the power his strong hands would have when they explored her body and brought her to climax. She didn’t doubt he could. Gooseflesh raised on her arms. If he’d just show up tonight, she’d proposition him and test her theory. A few weeks of hot sex, and she’d be good for a few years. Anger issues solved.
    Her ad agency knowledge would be useful. All she had to do was get him to open the packaging, and then he’d be sold.
    A light tapping from the back door snapped her out of the sexy daydream. She opened it to find a clean-shaven Grant with a camo skull cap covering his hair. A woodsy aftershave tickled her nose. He still wore the faded jeans from earlier, but he’d switched out the white T-shirt for a black one and wore a dark camo long-sleeved shirt over it.
    “Why are you dressed like a tree?”
    He studied her dress. “Why aren’t you wearing a bra?”
    Heat from an immediate blush warmed her chest and closed in on her cheeks. She’d lie now and hit him with the truth after dessert. “Um, in case your brothers interrupt our evening and I accidently shift. I didn’t want to ruin my nice bra and panties.”
    “You aren’t wearing panties, either?” His gaze centered on the spot just below her stomach.
    “I, uh, need to get the picnic basket.” At least his expression held a decent amount of male curiosity. Maybe this won’t be so hard to sell after all .
    He took the basket-of-seduction from her, and she followed him into the back alley. When she didn’t see a vehicle nearby, she stopped. “Where’s your truck?”
    “Down around the corner.”
    A few extra steps, and she caught up with him matching his stride. “I must say, I’m not used to being a dirty little secret.”
    His dark eyebrows drew together in a heavy frown. “How much has your cousin told you about the issues between our