Free The Bear's Reluctant Wolf by Jenika Snow

and
Candace knew she should have gone with her gut and steered clear of the alpha
polar bear. Just being in his presence raised her hackles, and now it seemed he
had quite a back-story, one that was bumpy and filled with this trashy, psycho
human female.
    Trace pulled her behind the protection
of his big body, which didn’t make her feel comforted,
but pissed her off even more. Yeah, she knew he wanted to protect her, but she
could handle herself. Karla started spouting a bunch of very personal things at
Trace, ones that insulted his manhood and inner animal. He didn’t respond to
any of them, and when everyone cast their glances in their direction, and she
spotted the owner of the deli making his way out to investigate the scene being
done right in front of his business, Candace knew it was time to get the hell
out of there. If he wanted to continue this verbal battle with his ex, that was
fine, but Candace didn’t want any part of it. She turned, about to do just that,
but then Trace had her hand in his and was leading them back to his bike.
Candace didn’t try to get out of his grasp because, well, she did need a ride,
and she also was curious about what in the hell that had been about, even if
she shouldn’t care.
    He handed her the helmet without looking
at her or saying anything. The rage that came from him was like a living
entity, and several shifters passing by actually moved farther away from him
and cast wary glances in their direction.
    “Trace.” Candace had just wanted to get away from him and the clear drama that human had
brought, but now, standing so close to him all she could feel was his turbulent
emotions like they were her own. He was pissed, no doubt about it, but what he
tried to hide, and failed since she picked up on it so strongly, was the fact
he was hurting. What had that woman done to him to have a male as potent as
Trace Dakota feeling defeat?
    “Candace, just get on the fucking bike.”
There was no malice in his words when he spoke to her, just wariness and a need
to escape. She climbed on the back, put the helmet on that he handed her, and
wrapped her arms around his waist. He started the engine, and she looked over
at Karla, who still stood on the patio, her arms crossed, her eyes narrowed,
and her teeth bared. And all of that was directed right at Candace. Okay, so
clearly she was still upset over whatever happened between her and Trace, even
though it had supposedly been five years ago.
    Trace took off, speeding away from
everyone and everything until the city of Sweet Water no longer surrounded
them. Big spruce trees and massive pines lined each side of them, looking more
like brown and green blurs as Trace drove faster. Candace tightened her hold around
him and squeezed her thighs closer to his body as adrenalin pumped through her
veins.
    He took a sharp left, and drove up a
steep incline before making another right. The Sweet Water Lake came into view
only minutes later. Pulling to a stop and cutting the engine, he didn’t make a
move to dismount right away. The sound of the wind going through the trees and
of the wildlife scurrying around filled her ears. After just staring ahead for
several minutes he climbed off and turned to help her off the bike, but he
didn’t stay at her side after that. Instead he moved to the edge of the cliff
that overlooked the lake. Candace glanced around. The scenery was breathtaking,
and although she had been to the lake many times over, she had never been to
this particular spot, or seen the lake from this vantage point. Moving a little
closer to the cliff and where he stood, she still kept a few feet between them.
The emotions that came from him were stormy and tremulous, and even though she
didn’t really know much about him, Candace could tell he was not a male who wore
his heart on his sleeve. Opening her mouth to say something, although she
didn’t know what that something was, his deep, painful voice stopped her.
    “First I’d like to