Free Grayslake: More than Mated: Waking the Bear (Kindle Worlds Novella) by Ruby Shae Page B

and one rejection wouldn’t cause her to go into hiding.
    Luckily, someone approached her within seconds. He wasn’t the best looking guy in the place, but he wasn’t an ogre, and she really wanted to escape the stool she currently occupied.
    “Hey, babe,” he said. “You are looking hot in those jeans. Why don’t you come over and hang out with me and my friends?”
    He pointed to a group of guys surrounding a nearby table, and she eagerly agreed.
    “I’d love too.”
    “Great. How about another drink?”
    “I’d love that, too.”
    She placed her empty glass on the counter, and sauntered over to the group with an extra swing in her hips. The guy stayed behind to order her drink, and his friends welcomed her with contagious enthusiasm.
    Within minutes, she had another drink in her hand, and the rapt attention of five sexy men. It didn’t matter that none of them excited her like the guy at the counter had…she wasn’t looking for anything permanent, and he was obviously an asshole.
     
    ***
     
    “Be nice.”
    Fuck you!
    Tad Mitchell glared as he watched Declan stroll to the end of the bar without a care in the world. The bartender was too damn observant, and while it was a necessity when single-handedly running a bar in a town full of shifters, it was even more annoying when the man was your all-knowing older brother.
    Tad wanted to beat the shit out of his sibling, but he knew it was his own damn fault. When the curvy beauty walked into the bar, her scent hit him like a Mack truck, and he’d been too stunned to hide his emotions.
    Or his physical reaction.
    Fuck.
    Five years.
    It had been five years since the betrayal of his ex, Cindy, and he hadn’t felt anything for another woman since. Suddenly, in a matter of minutes, his dick was rock hard, and he was ready to throw out all of his convictions and give the newcomer every—and any—thing she desired.
    No way in hell.
    Women, especially human women, couldn’t be trusted, and he’d be damned if he ever let one get close to him again. The fact that his throbbing dick seemed to ache for her didn’t mean anything, and if he couldn’t find relief with his hand, then he would find someone willing in the next town over.
    A wave of nausea swept over him, and he immediately nixed the idea of touching another woman. At least that much hadn’t changed.
    He’d tried a few stomach turning one-night stands about a year after Cindy’s betrayal, but he’d learned pretty quick that he wasn’t ready to touch another woman, and once he bared his chest, they weren’t ready to touch him.
    He briefly considered taking off his shirt, and ending their mutual attraction right now, but he knew Declan would have a fit and he wasn’t in the mood. It had nothing to do with the fact that he didn’t want to see the familiar look of revulsion on her face. He could douse her interest without seeing that look, and then each of them could go their separate ways.
    He schooled his features, and forced himself to look at her.
    Big—huge—mistake.
    Her brown eyes locked with his, and a wave of emotions swamped him. If there had been any doubt in his mind, in that moment he knew.
    Mate!
    Everything he’d ever wanted stared back at him, and it took every ounce of will power he possessed to stay seated and not show any emotion. Her blond hair was parted on the side, and it fell in layered waves to her shoulders. If she had on make-up, he couldn’t tell, and he was mesmerized by her natural beauty.
    He’d noticed her painted on jeans when she’d entered the building, and he desperately wanted to palm the large globes of her ass, and leave a trail of kisses down the inside of her thick, gorgeous thighs. The sexy top she wore accented her large, generous breasts, but it didn’t hide the soft, lush curves of her belly.
    The scent of her arousal wrapped around him, and he desperately wanted to rip off her clothes and sink his thick cock into her warmth. Against the wall, on the