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Chapter 1
     
    “ Sure if you like that in a bear.” Sydney snorted, certain her friend was crazy.
    Tara smiled in response. “Hot, sexy, and strong? Heck yeah.”
    “ And he’s probably as dumb as an ox, too, a regular meathead.” She turned to the left and slapped a hand over her mouth. “No offense, Harry.” Sydney winced, realizing what she’d said. She didn’t mean anything by the remark; it just kind of slipped out.
    The bartender waved it off, secretly annoyed. Yeah, sure, it’s always the ox; never the fox or bear. He shook his head. If he didn’t need tips to help pay his way through college, he’d tell her a thing or two. He kind of liked her, but after that remark he was less than enthusiastic about the girl. It didn’t matter. She only had eyes for bears like most of the girls around these parts. He thought Sydney was different, but he saw the way she side-eyed guys time to time, trying not to let them notice.
    “ Call it what you will, but that boy revved my fire,” Tara said with longing in her voice.
    “ Great, so he’s good in bed, but he couldn’t find his way out of a paper bag. He sounds charming.” Sydney drained the last of her beer and got up to stretch. She had a long night ahead of her and didn’t want to get sloppy too soon. “So, if he’s so great, what happened?”
    “ Ah, you know, bears don’t mate for life,” she said, blowing a long strand of hair out of her face. “It was a one-time thing, but boy, oh boy, the memories.” She hated that about bears. Some did mate for life, but most didn’t.
    “ Don’t you ever want more than a fling?” Sydney heard it all before, but her best friend had a pattern. She’d fall in love with a hot bear too fast and then watch as he leaves. He’d tell her what most bears do…they don’t mate for life. No thank you . She wasn’t interested in one night stands. Maybe it was silly, but it just wasn’t her thing. Her mother warned her that this would happen, but Sydney was different. She wanted a lifetime partner, not just a string of lustful encounters. Being a bear herself, she knew what it meant, but a girl could dream.
    “ Eh, relationships over rated. I like my freedom,” Tara fudged. And that’s why they’d be there all night, working through her emotions, starting off strong and ending in a pile of tears and empty beer mugs. Tara quizzed Sydney, not sure she believed her. “Do you mean to tell me if Carter Monroe walked through that door right now, you wouldn’t get even a little weak in the knees?”
    Sydney bit the inside of her cheek. “Sure, sure, he’s a good looking specimen, but he’s not my type. Besides, I’m not interested in being a one-night stand. It’s just not my thing. You know that.”
    Tara shook her head as Sydney sat back down. “I’d pounce on that boy in a heartbeat. He’s got to be the sexiest bear in town.” She let out a small sigh, her mind drifting to the alpha bear that every girl in town wanted a piece of. The problem was that Carter knew he made the girls drool. Unfortunately, he had an ego to go with his hot body. He was hardly humble about it, and Tara wasn’t exactly at the top of his list.
    Sydney ordered another beer and tossed the bartender an extra generous tip to make up for her ignorant comment earlier. “Sorry again, Harry.”
    Harry nodded. “It happens.”

Chapter 2
     
    Carter Monroe flexed his shoulders, pushing them forward. Slowly, he rolled his head, giving his neck a good long stretch. After last night, he barely wanted to climb out of bed, but he promised his buddy he’d hang with him.
    His friend, Grant, was feeling the ache of loss. He was normally a no-strings attached guy, but this time a hot girl captured him in a way others hadn’t. He was trying to work through his feelings. Bears felt intensity and heat fast, but it was usually easy to break away. Grant knew he’d eventually stray, he always did, and he didn’t want to drag this new girl into a