Mine to Bear: Icy Cap Den #2 (Alaskan Den Men) Read Free Page B

deputizing you is not open for discussion.”
    She kissed my shoulder where her nails had marked my skin. It didn’t hurt me. I liked her unconscious attempts to mark me more than I should have. “Not that. Why do you still fight your bear spirit?” her voice whispered. “After all the time we’ve known each other, I still haven’t seen you shift.”
    Hell, I hadn’t seen me shift. Every time my ice bear spirit rose, I suppressed it. To say I resented my bear didn’t even begin to cover it. My father was an ice bear shifter, but he died before Ash and I were born. Our human mother had struggled to raise twins working as a schoolteacher in Icy Cap. A sudden illness had killed her before we discovered as teenagers that we were shifters.
    For me, avoiding shifting became about self-discipline. It was my will versus the bear spirit inside me. I didn’t want to be a slave to anything, and I made myself hold out against my bear spirit as it clawed to be free. I fought it, and I still do.
    I’m so unlike Trudy. Once she told me sometimes she has to check and see if she has paws or hands; she can’t remember what form she is in.
    I didn’t like my ice bear spirit. I liked talking about it even less.
    “Stay away from the vamp.”
    “Nobody likes vamps. Even Meg gets treated warily.”
    “I wasn’t talking about my brother’s mate.”
    She slipped her bra back on. “Max is a darn good electrician. You know how hard it is to find someone to come up to Icy Cap? Plus, he knows something.”
    My blood pounded in my ears.
    “Why do you say that?” My throat felt strangled, getting the words out.
    Does Max know?
    She pulled her T-shirt over her head, muffling her voice. When her face reemerged, she said, “He’s acting weird. He smelled my hair.” She pulled her curls loose of their knot. “May I have my panties, please? I know you palmed them.”
    “Stay away from the vamp,” I repeated.
    “With you and Gary here, I’m fine. You know how temperature-sensitive vamps are. He’s either here working or sleeping at Gary’s.”
    “Are they gay?”
    Trudy rolled her eyes. “They’re friends. Gary made a coffin for Max to sleep in while he’s here.”
    Now that all her passion was neatly tucked away, I wanted to strip Trudy down and fuck her again.
    Apparently she read my mind easily.
    “Hold onto my panties until later, if that’ll make you glower less. I’ve got work to do. I can’t spend my time seducing the boss.” She slipped out my door, holding her clipboard.
    Pulling my briefs and jeans back on, I tucked Trudy’s panties into my pocket. I pulled them back out. Their pink flower print made me smile. Folding them neatly, I placed them in my upper right desk drawer. I liked them there. Starting a collection was the best idea I’d had yet today.

    H ours later , I left my office. The steady snowfall would make driving back to Ash’s cabin difficult. I should’ve driven the snowmachine to work.
    Trudy was poring over thick paperbacks, alone. Max and Gary had headed back home earlier.
    “How’s it going?”
    “I’ve learned something very important. I love writing computer code. I hate deciphering building code.”
    “Good to know. Would you like a ride home, or are you going on four feet?”
    “A ride would be great. I’m a little tired today. You should probably stay away from me; I might be getting sick.”
    She kissed me lightly on the lips. So much for germ theory.
    I deepened the kiss. “I’m very hearty. I drove Ash’s truck here. Once we get back to his cabin, we can take the snowmachine to your place.”
    We packed up and headed out to the truck. In these cold temperatures, the truck’s battery needed continuous charging when it wasn’t running. Without the charge, the frigid temps would drain the battery.
    More snow fell, lending the landscape a pristine quality. I glanced up at the sky, but all I saw was more snow.
    We made slow progress. As was typical for Icy Cap, the roads were