Free Bearly Hers: A Paranormal Bear Shifter Romance by Maria Amor

intentions to help her were touching, but the warmth she felt was misplaced. Accepting anything from a man who didn’t trust her—who thought the worst of her—was only prolonging the inevitable.
    She crossed her arms. “This isn’t going to work.” Flashes of yesterday invaded her mind. His mouth on hers, the feel of him inside her as the wind threaded through her hair.
    Xander opened the door and stuck his head in. “Trey, we need you.”
    Trey clenched his jaw, leveling her with a stare that she couldn’t read. “Stay here. Gia. I’ll be back.”
    She didn’t promise, made no indication either way. She knew she wasn’t going to stay, and deep down, he probably did, too. When he turned and walked out, she knew it was for the best.
     
     

THE FINAL CHAPTER
    “What the hell happened in there?” Xander’s eyes were burning into the side of Trey’s face, and he was going to lose his shit in about two seconds.
    “Stop staring at me.”
    “She saw your back and freaked, didn’t she?”
    Trey pressed on the wrench to tighten the washer on the water line, snugging it harder than he had to. A little bit more and he’d probably bend the pipe. “Yep.” The exclaim that had come out of her mouth when she’d seen him, so filled with disgust and bitterness had been the arrow through his heart. He’d been in that place before, being scorned because of his scars. But he’d never expected it from Gia. What they had together seemed so real , so natural, as if they’d been made to pair together—that she’d been made to bear his mark.
    There was nothing superficial about her. Which is why he was having such a hard time believing she’d been trying to steal the geode. Even as he’d accused her, it hadn’t seemed right. In his heart, he’d stopped really feeling she was the thief a while ago. But he’d been blindsided before—not something a shifter with his instincts wanted to admit. No wonder Gia got away with just taking what she wanted. She knew how shamed men would be to admit they’d been fleeced.
    Blinded by her beauty and the delicious way she used her body. Ridiculous. If he really believed he’d been played, then why did he care so much about the phone calls and the threat toward her friend? He couldn’t not trust her and still have this much protectiveness pumping through him.
    “Just throwing this out there,” Xander said, putting his hands up, palms out. “But is it possible you were being oversensitive?”
    She couldn’t leave. Not without him. The back of his neck started to tingle, the bear making a wide circle inside before it started to claw at his skin. There was a ring of truth to Xander’s words. Maybe her reaction had had nothing to do with him. Maybe she really had intended to ask him about the geode versus trying to steal it. He dug it from his own pocket and rolled it on his palm. This one had a little insect fossil on the back—of course she’d be excited about it.
    Fossils reminded her of her father, whom she’d loved so much. Now, thanks to him, they might remind her of what assholes men could be.
    He didn’t want to be the reason she became jaded about anything, nor could he allow her to walk into danger. He cared—more than cared.
    Damn it.
    Throwing down the wrench, he stood. He’d had to attend to the leak in the barn’s piping before it turned into an unfortunate flood. Besides, it had given him an excuse to put some distance between Gia and him. He didn’t want distance—he wanted her here. More, he wanted her to want that, too.
    A figure walked into the barn, and Trey recognized Dell from the Gray Trees Clan. He came casually over, stopped in front of them and made a thumbing motion behind him.
    “Who’s the woman out front of the house?”
    Remembering that he’d asked Dell to come over when he returned from the cattle auction, with the sole purpose of having him identify Gia as the thief, Trey swallowed down a lump of guilt. He noticed something on the