Free Claimed by the Beast Bundle by Dawn Michelle

friend made. “What?”
    “ Indian is a brand of motorcycle,” Ember said.
    “ It is? Oh!”
    “ Oh my God.” Crystal resisted the urge to facepalm herself for Beth’s mistake and shook her head. “You are such an indoor girl.”
    Beth shrugged and kept her mouth shut.
    “Ember, Crystal,” Hank greeted as he climbed off his bike and stood to face them.
    “ Jesus, he’s a tank,” Beth mumbled.
    Ember grunted and nodded while Crystal grinned and barely resisted the urge to skip and jog ahead to meet him. She still walked fast enough that she almost didn’t slow down in time to meet him. Hank smiled when Crystal’s eyes widened and she stumbled with the effort to slow herself down.
    Hank reached out and caught her shoulders before she could fall. He chuckled. “Well, hi there.”
    “ I’m such a klutz!” Crystal groaned.
    He shrugged. “I don’t mind.”
    Ember smacked him in the arm as she walked up next. “What’s the word?”
    “ He hasn’t been back to the bridge,” Hank said with his rumbling voice.
    Crystal picked up a touch of an accent. Tennessee, maybe?
    “We couldn’t track him or find him. He healed before he came out of the river. No blood to follow.”
    “ I should have been there,” Ember mumbled. “I could have found his scent again.”
    “ Found his scent?” Beth asked as she joined them. “What are you talking about?”
    “ Ember was the one who knew the Beast was there when we rode past Crystal,” Hank explained.
    “ Hank, shut it!” Ember hissed. “She doesn’t know.”
    “ I know about Crystal getting hurt,” Beth protested. Once all eyes were on her, she held out her arms and said, “What? She told me!”
    “ What did you tell her?” Hank asked.
    Crystal felt herself withering under his bright -eyed gaze. “I told her about the thing that bit me and how it was making me sick. And that it was hunting me.”
    Hank nodded. He glanced at Ember. “Soon.”
    Ember laughed. “Better be.”
    Crystal scowled. “What’s that supposed to mean?”
    Ember glanced down between the two of them and nodded. “Two of you are getting awfully close and it looks like somebody’s getting happy to see you.”
    “ Ember!” Hank growled.
    Crystal glanced down in spite of the sudden heat in her cheeks and saw the bulge in his pants. She gasped and felt her knees tremble. “Uh—”
    “ Crys! Wait up!” Stephanie’s voice broke over her like a tidal wave of freezing water.
    Crystal jerked herself around, twisting and ending up brushing her arm against Hank ’s chest. He caught her and held her still so she didn’t trip. Crystal felt the quiet strength in his grip and hoped the moan she heard was only in her head. Ember was right: if she wasn’t careful, she was going to jump his bones the first chance she got!
    “ You said you’d introduce me to your boyfriend,” Stephanie said as she closed the distance on her long legs.
    “ Boyfriend?” Hank whispered in her ear.
    Crystal shivered. “It kind of slipped,” she mumbled.
    “ So?” Stephanie said as she slowed. She looked up at him and extended her hand. “Hi, I’m Stephanie.”
    Crystal jerked and turned to look at Hank. He had his head tilted a little as he looked down at her. “Stephanie, this is Hank.”
    Hank took his hand off Crystal ’s shoulder and extended his arm to her. Crystal’s stomach tightened and her teeth felt like they would crack under pressure any second as Hank shook her hand.
    “ Oh my, you really are big,” Stephanie said with a smile.
    “ We were just leaving,” Crystal said. “We can catch up later.”
    “ Oh? That’s too bad,” Stephanie said. She smiled at Hank and nodded. “Later then. I’m holding you to that!”
    Crystal grabbed Hank and turned him around. “Let’s go,” she muttered.
    “ What was that all about?” he asked.
    “ Long story. She’s the reason I cry myself to sleep at night.”
    “ You what?”
    Crystal sighed. “Never mind. I’m kidding. About the