Free Bearly A Squeak by Ariana McGregor

yes,” Anna interrupted, her hand slashing through the air. “She is not yours and it's time you left. If you are not out of here by the time I count to five, I will remove you myself. Trust me, you won't like that.” She stared hard at him, unflinching, her tone stern and determined.
    “What? -” Barry blustered.
    “One.”
    “How -?”
    “Two.”
    At a flash of movement, Tara turned her head to see the dog fleeing into the trees.
    “You can't -”
    “Three.”
    Tara turned and looked at Alex. As one, they stood, grabbed the basket and fled after the dog.
    “Now, look here -”
    “Four.”
    “Run faster,” Alex panted, as they pounded through the woods. Tara ran, listening intently for any sounds behind them. Before long, there was a high-pitched shriek. Tara winced, noticing that Alex did likewise.
    “She wouldn't...” Tara gasped.
    “Keep running,” Alex insisted, grabbing her hand and tugging her along.

Chapter 8
     
     
    Alex finally allowed his pace to slow to a jog and then stopped. He doubled over, gasping for air. He could hear Tara panting beside him. They'd probably covered quite a bit of ground by now. Hopefully it was enough.
    “What... was...” Tara gasped, “she going... to do... to him?”
    Alex shrugged. He'd always preferred not to know what his mother got up to when she slipped into protective mama bear mode. What was that phrase? Ah yes, plausible deniability. That was it. He was an officer of the law and couldn't turn a blind eye to anything she did, but he was so not arresting his own mother. Apart from the family ties, there was no way on earth that he was going to attempt to bring that woman in. As long as Alex didn’t know what was going on, then he didn’t have to get involved.
    “Should we do something?” Tara asked, eyes wide.
    “We should stay out of the way,” he insisted. “It'll all be fine and I really don't want to know. I am not arresting my mother.”
    Tara looked uncertain, but she let it drop. “So, I guess that means the date is over, huh?”
    Dammit. He wasn't ready for the date to end. “We could always shift and enjoy some quality outdoor time.”
    “Shift?” Tara looked horrified. “Outside?”
    “Yeah,” he said. “What's wrong with being outside? It’s how it's supposed to be.”
    She gave him a wry smile. “Maybe if you're a huge ass grizzly bear.”
    He mock growled. “My ass is not huge.”
    “I just meant that you're a bear. You can shift and run around and nothing will bother you. I'm a mouse. Things keep trying to eat me. It's safer if I shift indoors.” She shrugged as though it wasn't important, but he could see that it was. She wanted to be outside, but it wasn't very safe for a small shifter. Not normally.
    “Nothing will try to eat you today,” he promised. “You have your very own grizzly bodyguard. Come on, you know you want to. Just stay near the bear and you'll be safe.”
    She tilted her head and looked at him, a smile slowing spreading across her face.
    “You're on,” she said. Turning her back on him, she pulled her dress up over her head. When she looked over her shoulder, she caught him staring at her. “You planning on having your bear wearing those clothes?” she asked with a smirk.
    He pulled off his shirt and toed off his shoes, his eyes still firmly on his mate. Still watching him, she slid her hands up her back and unclasped her bra, letting it slide down her arms. She was deliberately teasing him. Two could play that game. He unbuttoned his jeans and hooked his thumbs into the waistband. Her eyes were glued to this crotch, all movement ceased. He waited until she looked up and he winked at her, enjoying the blush that came to her cheeks. Then he slowly pushed down his jeans and stepped out of them. His hands came back up to the waistband of his boxers and he pulled them down, easing over his cock which was firmly standing to attention. Tara's eyes grew wide and she licked her lips. She was killing him here.