Free Bear Meets Girl by Shelly Laurenston

behind her. “Stop sneaking up on me, hillbilly.”
    “Be more alert, Yankee.”
    “So everything set?”
    “Yep. MacDermot pulled a surveillance team together to work the taxidermist. She said to give ’em a couple of days. What were you just staring at?”
    “That bear from earlier. MacDermot’s new partner. The cute one. He’s here.”
    Smith followed Cella’s gaze. “Hair’s shorter.”
    “It’s known as a haircut. Basic grooming, Smith. You should look into it.”
    The She-wolf grinned. “Always so sweet on me, ain’tcha, Malone?”
    Cella grabbed Smith’s arm. “Come on.”
    “Where?”
    “I wanna go torture the bear some more.”
    Smith shook her off. “Can’t you do that on your own?”
    “Would it kill you to be a girl for just five minutes?”
    “What’s my pussy gotta do with anything?”
    “Oh, come on!” She glanced back at the bear. “It’ll be fun.”
    Cella reached for Smith, but she found nothing but air. And when she turned to look for her, the She-wolf was long gone.
    “How does the bitch do that?”
     
    Crush cleared his throat and tried again to speak in actual sentences. “Um ... it’s nice to meet you, Mr. Novikov.” Holy shit. Holy shit! He was talking to Bo Novikov. The Bo Novikov. There was only one player greater than Bo Novikov and he no longer played. But Crush had been following Novikov’s career for years and had been like a little kid when he’d found out Novikov had been picked up by the New York Carnivores. Now Crush didn’t have to worry about paying for those away trips just to get a chance to see Novikov play more than a couple of times a year.
    And now ... now Crush was standing in front of the man. Talking. To him .
    Holy shit! Holy shit!
    “Call him Bo!” Blayne cheered. “Right, honey?”
    “I don’t care,” the hybrid sighed.
    “What’s wrong?” Blayne asked. “And what happened to your face?” When he didn’t answer, she accused, “You’ve been fighting with Ric again, haven’t you?”
    “And there you go taking his side. You never even ask what happened.”
    “Did it involve a list?”
    Novikov crossed his arms over his chest. “Can I go now?”
    “No!” the wolfdog snapped. “You’re going to learn to be nice to your fans if it’s the last thing I make you do. Now be nice to Crush. He’s a polar, too.”
    “I’m only half polar,” Novikov reminded her.
    “What you are is a mother—”
    “Is he supposed to be nice to fans?” Crush, ever the detective, had to ask, barely realizing he was cutting into Blayne’s sentence.
    Blayne blinked. “Huh?”
    “Well, isn’t he known for not being nice to his fans? So is it fair of us as fans to ask him to be something he’s not?” Crush thought on that a moment before deciding, “No. It’s not fair.”
    Looking kind of smug, Bo Novikov gazed down at Blayne.
    “You can just get that look off your face, Bo Novikov!” Then Blayne stomped her foot and pointed at Crush. “And you’re not helping me, Crush! And after I got you such a nice haircut!”
    “I didn’t know my hair was contingent on the approving or disapproving of your appropriate fan theory treatment.”
    “I don’t even know what that means.”
    “In Blayneland,” Novikov explained, “everyone helps everyone and there is respect and love throughout the universe.”
    “Really?” Crush asked honestly. “Are there faeries and horses with wings in that universe, too?”
    “Yes,” Novikov replied flatly. “There are.”
    “You guys!” Blayne whined, sounding just like a cranky six-year-old.
    Crush began to laugh, but it faded when Gwen returned to his side with another player. “Lou Crushek, this is my fiancé, Lock MacRyrie.”
    The grizzly held his hand out and when Crush did nothing but gape at him, he went ahead and shook Crush’s hand, smiling a little.
    “It’s nice to meet you, Detective.”
    “You’re the Tank,” Crush finally said.
    MacRyrie blinked. “Sorry?”
    “That’s what