~ EXCERPT BELOW ~
Sexy Werewolf shifter, Margaret Taylor finds her mate in the body of a man she least expects it in. A grizzly bear shifter! Her human half tries to reason her way out of the match, but her she-wolf is through with her excuses.
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The music ended and Scott propelled the beautiful and stunned creature away from the dance floor. The poor woman had barely been able to put two words together since he’d touched her. The magick between them was strong and he could feel the mate bond beginning to take shape. It wasn’t something he’d been expecting, especially not at his buddy’s wedding. She was a wolf, not a bear. But, it didn’t matter to him in the least. His family wouldn’t care either. His mom would just be happy that after nearly a century, her baby had finally found his mate.
Now, if he could just get the little female to loosen up a little.
“Would you like to walk outside with me?” He gave her a little push toward the French doors leading out onto a well-lit patio.
“Ours! Ours! We found her! Don’t you dare mess this up!”
Shut it! He hushed his inner beast, which seemed to be more excited right now than he’d ever been his whole life.
“Sure,” she finally managed to squeak out. Her tiny body stood straight and gave a good impression of being in control, but he could feel the nervous tremors where his hand rested on her lower back. The urge to slide his palm lower was tempting, but he didn’t think it would help calm her at all.
He broke contact with her for a moment, slipping off his sport coat and then casually slid it over her bare shoulders. The March weather was nice, but it was still chilly, especially at night. They walked to the edge of the patio and looked out over the cityscape. Vegas was always lit up. He never got used to it. He preferred his Teton Mountain privacy —dark skies, thick forests, and no neighbors to be seen for miles.
“I take it our mate connection surprised you?”
She took a step back and met his gaze. The spark in her brown eyes brought his arousal up a notch. He wondered if that spark would carry over into the bedroom.
“Focus! You horny, bastard.” The beast within jerked on his consciousness.
“No kidding,” she finally answered. “Maybe because I wasn’t expecting you to be a bear.”
“I don’t have a problem with being a bear.”
A laugh shook her slender frame. “No, I don’t suppose you have a problem being a bear.”
He grinned. At least she’d laughed. That was something. “Do you have a problem with me being a bear?”
“Yes.”
Well, shit. That’s not the answer I was expecting. I can smell her arousal. I know she’s interested.
“Just be nice.”
I am!
“Do I frighten you?” He leaned down and inhaled her fragrant vanilla scented body wash. She smelled good enough to eat. His mind wandered through the process of stripping her naked and tasting her. He had no doubt she would taste even sweeter.
“No,” she answered.
It was a lie. Her body tensed when he’d asked the question and he could smell a hint of fear in the pheromones she was releasing.
He sighed. “We are rarely violent. Usually only when threatened.”
“I’ve only met a couple of other bear shifters and they were not the nicest people.”
“Do you judge the entire werewolf community by the actions of a few?”
“No!” she state quickly. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have made that assumption. I’m just—”
“Nervous?” he whispered.
“Yes.” She nodded and leaned forward on the railing.
“Do you live here in Vegas? Does your family?”
“Yes, just east of the strip. I belong to the Taylor Pack.”
“You grew up with Chase?”
“No.” She shook her head. “His sister, Maggie.”
“Wait…I’ve heard about the infamous Maggie and Maggie.”
A soft laugh escaped her and a little more of the tension slid away. “Yes, everyone has heard about the Maggie’s. I go by Margaret now, though.”
He leaned down and nuzzled her cheek. “I like Margaret.” A barely audible whimper encouraged him further and he trailed soft kisses down the side of her neck. “I can’t wait to get you to the Tetons. You’ll love the forest. So much cooler than this godforsaken desert.”
She stepped back. Her facial expression morphed from disbelief to terror. Tension returned, thickening the air between them with the sickly scent of fear.
“Now you’ve done it!” His bear growled.
She slid his jacket from her shoulders and tossed it at him, shaking her head. “I have to go. I’m sorry. I can’t do this.”
“Wait, Margaret…”
“You were moving at the speed of a charging grizzly bear. What did you expect?”
Not funny!
“I told you to stay focused.”
He hurried into the ballroom, but she’d disappeared.
I was focused.
“On you! Not on her. One little sound and scent of arousal and you completely forgot that she was scared only moments before. She’s not an unaware human who’s going to fall in bed with you after a few laughs and a charming smile or two. She’s a werewolf who has met a couple of mean bears. Weren’t you listening?”
She’s our mate.
“Not yet. Not if you scare her off.”
The warning in his bear’s voice was painfully clear.
A crossing between shifter species was rare, but not unheard of. Still, she could deny him and send him away, just like any other potential mate. He would be honor bound to accept her wishes, even though they would live in misery until both found another potential match…if they found one.
He couldn’t let that happen. There had to be some way to make this right.