Free Wren and the Werebear by Aubrey Rose

trembled in a way she'd never felt before. Still, there was no way she was going to let him control her. Not like this. It wasn't right.
    "Please let go of my arm," Wren said flatly.
    "I would, but you'd fall right over the edge."
    Wren looked behind her and gasped, immediately jumping away from the steep ledge. She turned to find herself inches away from the ranger's bare chest. Tremors ran through her, but he stepped back to give her room. She almost wished he hadn't, then berated herself for the wish.
    "Have a fun hike," the ranger said. "You'll excuse me, but I haven't finished my swim." His hands moved down to his zipper. "Unless you want to stay and examine the wildlife some more, of course."
    "No!" Wren said, flushing hard.
    "Then I'll see you around. There's a rope tied up on that tree branch to help you down if you need," the ranger said. He didn't seem put off at all by Wren's attitude; instead, he was almost amused. As she lowered herself down, he gave her a wink and a wave.

Chapter Eleven
    Wren's heart raced as she made her way back to the trail and kept walking along the loop toward the ridgeline. She couldn't even bother pretending that it was the shifter hiding somewhere in the woods that made her pulse pound. Seeing the park ranger's naked body and being drawn into an unexpected kiss had made her nerves jump in a way that was decidedly unhelpful to her mission.
    Her mission. Right. That's what she was worrying about.
    Wren stopped at the top of the ridge line, where the trail opened up into a wide lookout. Here there was no place for a shifter to hide, and she breathed a bit easier as she sat down on a small rock outcropping and gazed out at the view.
    The sun was already high in the sky, and the air was warm. She looked down to where the pines ran up against the coastal cliffs and gave out to the vast blue water. Although white caps of foam edged the tops of the ocean swells, from so far away the waves seemed to move in slow motion and Wren soaked in the calm motion of the distant waves. Over a little farther, up the ridgeline, she could see the fire lookout on top of the mountain, where she was staying.
    What was she doing here? The ranger's kiss had shocked her with its hard, quick intensity, and while she had pulled back immediately, she'd felt her body responding with the most intense kind of desire. It was nothing, of course, just a physical attraction, but—
    But she didn't remember the last time a kiss from Olivier had made her feel like that.
    Wren breathed in deeply. The salty fresh air cleared a bit of the fuzz in her head. This small coastal town was beautiful, sure, but once she was back in the city things would be back to normal.
    She blinked in confusion as a surge of sadness swelled up inside of her chest. Normal. Normal for her was sitting alone at night while Olivier stayed late and worked on Senate committee proposals. Normal for her was a date at a cocktail party spent laughing at the same jokes while he tried to impress the political leaders. And when was the last time they'd made love?
    Tears welled in her eyes and the hard reality of the life she'd chosen choked her at the base of her throat. One of her hands pressed against the space between her breasts, as though she was trying to hold her heart from breaking out of her chest.
    All of the time she'd spent at Washington parties had convinced her that she was somehow lesser. Less beautiful than the other Senate wives. Not as tall, not as skinny. Her sharp wisecracks that made Olivier laugh at home earned her only weak smiles among people who only wanted to talk politics.
    She'd played the part of the dutiful girlfriend, believing that once Olivier was elected, he would be able to relax, that they would be able to open up more with each other. But the election had come and gone, and he was just as distant as ever. The most passionate night they'd had together had been the night of the election. Flushed with victory, he'd taken her to bed