Free All About the Bear (Grizzly Cove Book 1) by Bianca D'Arc Page B

was late, after all.
    And naked.
    Though that didn’t bother him as much as it seemed to bother Nell. She’d placed herself strategically in front of him, blocking the sisters’ view of his privates, for the most part.
    Surprisingly, the sisters didn’t look all that alarmed. They had to have seen him shift. He hadn’t been all that far away from the deck when he’d changed.
    Leaning down beside Nell’s ear as she stood with her back to his front, Brody asked, “Do they already know?”
    “Oh, you’re going to love this,” Nell said, turning to face him. The expression on her face was a strange one. She looked sort of angry, but not at him, thank the Goddess. “Apparently, I’m the last one in the family to figure out the big secret of Grizzly Cove. They’ve known for weeks!” she said in an accusatory tone.
    “How?” Brody frowned. Everyone in the cove knew to keep things quiet. If someone had been blabbing, he’d have to have words with them.
    “Oh, come on,” Tina said, lifting her glass and taking a swallow of the wine. “You guys are terrible at keeping secrets. I saw your brother strip and shift the second day I was in town.”
    “He shifted in front of you?” Brody was shocked.
    “Hello? Roof garden,” she sing-songed, rolling her eyes. “We have a hell of a vantage point from up there. I was up there putting the planters together when I saw him getting naked in the woods behind our building. He’s kinda hot, so of course I watched. And then, he turned into a freaking bear.” Tina downed the rest of the wine and reached for the bottle to refill her glass.
    “And he’s not the only one we saw from up there,” Ashley chimed in. “Nell, did you know that Dr. Olafsson can become a polar bear? He likes to skinny dip, then come up as a bear. And hubba hubba. Doc is built.”
    “I had no idea you two were such voyeurs,” Nell said over her shoulder. She seemed more hurt than mad. Brody put his hands on her shoulders, stroking gently, hoping to soothe his mate. He didn’t like seeing her upset.
    “See?” Tina said in an accusing tone. “That’s exactly why we didn’t tell you.” Tina drank more wine. “You would have totally spoiled our fun.”
    “Can you believe them?” Nell said, moving more into Brody’s arms. “And here I was all worried about how we were going to tell them. I agonized over this big revelation, and it turns out I’m the only one who was in the dark.”
    Brody tried to think of the best response. “Well, at least now you know they’re not going to run screaming into the night at the idea there are shapeshifters in the world.”
    He tried giving her a lopsided smile, and she responded with a faint one of her own. He felt relief flow through him. She was recovering from both the shock of hearing he’d been shot and from learning that her sisters had known about the town’s secret all along and neglected to tell her.
    “Ashley, Tina, we wanted to tell you that we’re getting married.” He let that announcement fall without waiting for a response. There would be time for congratulations later. First, he had to get some pants on and comfort his mate—not necessarily in that order. “Now, if you’ll please excuse us for a few minutes, we’ll be right back,” he said firmly, as he walked slowly backwards into the house, Nell still in his arms. The sisters watched but didn’t move from their seats on the deck.
    Once inside, he couldn’t wait. He had to take her into his arms. He had to comfort her and hold her. The bear inside him demanded he make her happy again, and Brody could do no less than agree.
    He dipped his head and claimed her lips in a gentle kiss that quickly turned into something much hotter.
    “Way to go, sis,” Ashley called from the other side of the screen door while Tina let out a wolf whistle. Brody paid them no heed. He was way too busy kissing his mate.
     
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