Free Night Shift (Grizzly Cove Book 3) by Bianca D'Arc

didn’t scare you?”
    “Scare me? When you were saving my life?” Her tone was incredulous. “No way. Zak, you’re amazing, and I’m so glad you were there. Human or bear, you’re still Zak, and you’re the bravest man I know.” She leaned over and hugged him, pressing kisses to his cheek, his ear, wherever she could reach.
    Emotion threatened to overcome her as she thought about the close call this afternoon. Zak was such a great guy. She had deep feelings for him, even though they’d only known each other a short time.
    He held her, rubbing her back and stroking her hair as she trembled. The reaction from her brush with danger had never really dissipated. She’d been shaky since the had monster attacked, but she’d kept going. Only now did she realize she was still trembling, emotion clogging her throat.
    “It’s okay, baby. Let it out, if you need to. I’m here for you,” he crooned near her ear, overcoming the last of her resistance.
    The tears came then. Tears of anger that she’d been attacked out of the blue, for no discernible reason. Tears for the fear that had gripped her heart and tears of relief. So much relief.
    Zak held her throughout, speaking soft words of reassurance.
     
    Zak met Nell’s eyes through the windshield of the SUV. She was still inside the bakery, but she’d seen them pull up and could see through the glass separating them that her little sister was upset. Zak nodded to her, glad when Nell took his signal as reassurance and backed away from the window. The last thing he wanted was the family swooping down on his SUV, disrupting this moment.
    For one thing, his inner bear demanded he be the one to comfort Tina. The beast had grown very attached to the woman over the past days. In fact, the bear was downright possessive. He wanted to be the center of Tina’s universe, even though the human half of him knew her family would always hold a place in her heart.
    The other aspect of this situation was even more selfish. Zak just liked holding her in his arms. It broke his heart that she was so upset, but he couldn’t help but feel the softness of her body against his, the silkiness of her hair under his hand, and inhale the warm, womanly scent of her wafting to his sensitive nose. She was delicious. Delectable. Delightful in every way. Everything about her satisfied his senses. More than satisfied, actually. With no effort at all, she could light him on fire with the most intense passion he’d ever known.
    Oh yeah. This woman was lethal at close range, but what a way to go.
    After a few more minutes, she seemed to get herself together. The trembling eased, and her tears died away naturally, leaving her face a little flushed, her eyes a little red, her nose a little runny, but even with all of that, she was still adorable to him.
    Zak reached into the door console behind him and came up with a few tissues. Actually, they were paper napkins he’d gotten from somewhere, but they would do in a pinch. She accepted them gratefully, wiping at her eyes and nose as she moved back to her own side of the vehicle.
    “I’m sorry for crying all over you,” she said softly, hiccupping just once. He had to smile at the way she was trying to put on a brave face for him.
    “I don’t mind,” he answered honestly. “I’m here for you, Tina. Whatever you need.”
    “Apparently, I needed to fall apart there for a minute. Sorry.” She laughed, and he chuckled with her. “You’re a very indulgent guy.”
    “For you? I’ll be whatever you want.” Whoa. Too serious? He watched her reaction to his words carefully. If he had to backpedal, he would, but maybe…just maybe…this afternoon’s adventure—and the delicious interlude that had come before—had changed things.
    She looked over at him, meeting his gaze. “You’re perfect just the way you are, Zak. Anybody else would have freaked out, like I was doing. You took action. You saved me, when all I could do was panic.”
    “You