Free Chief Bear (Bear Shifter Paranormal Romance) (Rescue Bears Book 1) by Scarlett Grove

areas in the lodge where private parties could be held simultaneously. One was the main dining room where the women’s celebration would be held. The second was a conference hall that was often used for special events, according to the lodge brochure. That’s where the bachelor party would be held. That way, the guests could intermingle in the other rooms of the lodge yet still have private celebrations. It promised to be an interesting night.
    Juliet rode down in the elevator with Charlotte and the bridesmaids. The music was already thumping through the hallway when the elevator doors opened. Balloons lined the open doors of the dining room across the lobby. The women laughed with each other as they strode into the party. Most of the other guests had already arrived and were enjoying the food and drinks from the bar.
    Everyone looked great and several women were dancing. The bridesmaids joined the party, and Juliet laughed as Quinn swept her onto the dance floor.
    “This party needs men!” Quinn shouted over the music.
    Out of the corner of her eye, Juliet noticed a burly, bearded man holding a silver keg on his shoulder in the doorway. Juliet turned to look at him, and Quinn stopped still as a statue beside her. Juliet turned to smirk at her friend, who grabbed her arm and squeezed.
    “That’s him,” Quinn whispered.
    Juliet could see Quinn and Duke’s eyes lock before he turned toward the bar and set his keg beside it. He glanced back at her as he set it up.
    “Are you going to say hello?” Juliet asked. Quinn still hadn’t moved.
    “He’s busy.”
    “Go talk to him,” Juliet said, pushing her friend toward the bear shifter across the room.
    Quinn took several baby steps forward then stopped, took a deep breath, and strode toward him like the confident girl Juliet knew. Quinn tossed her head and greeted him with a hand on her hip.
    “Go get him,” Juliet said under her breath.
    Charlotte came up behind her and wrapped her arms around Juliet’s waist.
    “What’s Quinn doing?” she said in her ear.
    “That’s Duke. The brew bear,” Juliet said, laughing.
    “Ooh, hot. Wait. Is he leaving?”
    Quinn waved goodbye to Duke as he walked out the door of the dining room before she rejoined her friends.
    “He just left?” Charlotte asked.
    “He has to deliver the bachelor party keg and then he’s coming back to talk.”
    “Talk?” Charlotte said, snorting.
    She pulled Quinn and Juliet onto the dance floor. But Duke wouldn’t be the only bear they saw at the bachelorette party tonight. The man Juliet was waiting for walked into the room and the DJ stopped the music.
    “Did someone call for a rescue?” a golden haired, blue eyed man said from the doorway.
    He was dressed in outdoor gear with his khaki shirt halfway open. It was easy to see the rippled muscles of his chest. Juliet knew the stripper who went by the name Rock Hard was a bear shifter. That’s what the talent agency had said anyway.
    The women started to scream as the golden haired man bounded on top of the bar while the bartender poured everyone a pint of Duke’s craft beer. Rock Hard started to dance to the music, unbuttoning his shirt.
    The guests pulled chairs up in front of the bar and watch the stripper slip out of his button-up shirt. He threw it down to the floor to pool at Charlotte’s feet. As Rock Hard started to grind his hips, the women clapped and cheered, taking long swigs of Duke’s special Fate Mountain brew.
    The energetic dance music came to the bridge and the dancer yanked off his pants, leaving him in a pair of work boots and a speedo with the words “Rescue Bear” across the crotch. The women screamed and Rock Hard jumped off the bar, landing in front of Charlotte.
    “Don’t worry, ma’am, I’m here to rescue you,” he said with a twirl.
    He used the cables he’d brought with him to tie around her before he started a special dance, just for the bride. Charlotte laughed and cheered as Rock Hard circled his