Free Timberman Werebear (Saw Bears Book 3) by T. S. Joyce

up—namely, her humanity—he was going to make damned sure she was never touched by the tooth of a shifter. Not even his own. Not even to claim her and bond her to him completely.
    He and Brighton knew the dangers of being different from humans. They’d paid in agony for that knowledge. Danielle couldn’t ever know that fear.
    Matt had gotten too close to Turning her though, and it dumped panic into his system. He could’ve so easily bitten into her muscle, been more thorough, ruined her life. Ruined Denison’s shot at happiness with the woman he still loved more than anything.
    He didn’t know what he was going to do, but one thing was for sure. He had to keep her away from the Gray Backs and the Boarlanders until she decided for herself if she wanted this life or not.
    What if she ran? No. She was different now. He pulled her against his chest and rested his chin on top of her head. She was stronger now. Matt hurt her, but she still showed up here, trying to play it off like no big deal to protect Denison from doing something stupid in a crowd full of humans. And she didn’t even know what he was.
    Maybe she could handle all of his secrets.
    Not now, but someday.
    “Come on. There’s not much time between events, and Tagan is up next.” He needed to take care of her in some way to soothe the rampaging animal inside of him, and feeding her was all he could do right now. Tonight, he was going to take her home and adore her body. Not in some quickie passion-fuck like he’d pushed in the Bronco. But better, slower, like she deserved. He inhaled her scent—fruit shampoo, soap, blood, and the lingering bitter smell of fear. That last trace threatened to buckle him and force a Change, but he couldn’t lose it here.
    As if she could read the turmoil flooding him, she stood on tiptoes and kissed him. Giving into his need for her, he pulled her closer and slid his tongue past the seam of her lips to taste her. God, his mate was perfect.
    His mate? Hell yeah. She had been for years, and this time he was going to do this right. He was going to share more of himself and hope she stayed around for the ugly parts.
    History said he wasn’t good enough to keep her, but this time he was going to show her exactly how important—no, pivotal—she was in his life.
    He squeezed her tiny hand in his, wrapping his fingers all the way around. He clapped Brighton on the back in a silent “thank you” for being there for his mate when he wasn’t able. He owed his brother, big time.
    Most of the crew followed Tagan toward the Standing Block Chop, but Denison pulled Danielle toward the rows of concession stands. And when his mate was satisfied with food, and they both had a cold beer in hand, he draped his arm around her waist and reveled in the fact that she’d come back to him. She’d chosen him, not Matt, or some guy she’d met after she’d left. She’d come back because of that job, but it was a cover. He knew in his gut she’d really come back because she still felt something for Denison. She’d thought about him through the years and had been brave enough to face her fears of his rejection and come back. He felt like the luckiest man in the world with her laughing beside him as they watched Tagan dominate in his event and while she cheered with him as they watched Skyler take second in the Women’s Boom Run across a bunch of logs connected together in the nearby lake.
    As the day wore on, his bear settled under Danielle’s constant touch. She seemed as thirsty for his skin as he was for hers. Her smiles were constant, and only for him and the Ashe Crew. She looked so damned sexy in the shirt that proclaimed she was part of his team. She laughed and talked to his friends like they were family, and it made him even more devoted to her.
    She’d always been a nature nerd and big into her books on trees and plants, but she’d never been awkward like she’d said. The Crew had always liked her.
    Now, she was a spitfire and