Free Bear's Kiss (Bear Heat Book 2) by Natalie Kristen Page A

trial, before there's a prison break and Ray
escapes from the law once again. It's happened before,” Caleb
said. “The District Attorney will have her work cut out for
her.”
    “It'd be a while before
they can shake all the government departments free of Shapez's
reach.” Thor rubbed his chin, frowning. “Somebody's got
to do it. I can go in again and try to smoke out all the moles...”
    “No.”
    All eyes swung to Caleb.
    Caleb clapped Thor on his
broad shoulder and said firmly, “You're not going back in.
It's too dangerous.”
    “But I...”
    “Your cover is blown
anyway. I am not sending you in again. And that's final. Welcome
back, to the land of the living.”
    Thor smiled. “It's
good to be back, Beta.”
    One of the policemen standing
patiently behind Prisha spoke up, “We need to get you to the
hospital, Ma'am.”
    “I'm not injured...”
Prisha protested.
    “It'd just be a routine
checkup,” Caleb said gently, taking her hand. “They need
to make sure you're okay. I'll come with you.”
    She laced her fingers tightly
through his and whispered fiercely, “You'd better. I'm not
letting you out of my sight.”
    Caleb bent down and kissed
her long and hard. “And I am not letting you out of my life.”

CHAPTER
TWENTY-TWO

    Prisha placed the pot of
curry on the table and announced, “And here's my famous Devil's
Curry! It's hotter than hot! You've been warned.”
    The Black Bears weren't
daunted. They gamely spooned the red, spicy curry onto their places
and took huge mouthfuls of their curry-smothered rice.
    Baxter's eyes widened and his
face turned as red as the curry, but he refused to reach for his
glass of ice water.
    Thor guffawed and egged him
on. “Come on, Bax, have more curry. Here, I got you a nice,
juicy drumstick. And some delicious curry gravy to go with it.”
    Baxter stuck out his tongue
and panted. “Oh my God! That was...incredible! It's like a
bomb just went off in my mouth! Yep, I'll have more of that.
Thanks, Thor!” Sweat poured off his face as he tucked in with
gusto.
    Ethan Flint, the Alpha of the
Black Bears, came up to her and smiled. “Thanks for throwing
this party for the clan, Prisha. But you shouldn't have closed the
whole restaurant just for us. Your customers...”
    “My customers can come
back tomorrow,” Prisha smiled, glancing at the “Closed
For A Private Function” sign in front of the door. “This
is a special party. It's a welcome back party. For Thor. And for
you guys.” Prisha grinned at Ethan and Cora, who had stepped
away from the rowdy bunch of Black Bears to join her mate. “I
hope you guys had a great honeymoon.”
    “Oh, we did.”
Cora sighed and absently caressed her belly. She wasn't showing yet,
but that gesture gave her away. It was the universal gesture of
pregnant women the world over.“But I'm really glad to be
back,” Cora went on. “I think the cub felt homesick.”
    Ethan hugged his pregnant
mate and chuckled. “Our cub is only a fetus at this stage.
Admit it, you missed those loud-mouthed, busybody bears.”
    Cora laughed. “Yeah.
I missed the clan.” Smiling broadly, she came forward and
hugged Prisha. “Welcome, Prisha, welcome to the Black Bears
clan!”
    Prisha was about to reply
when she heard a sound behind her. She turned to see Ali protesting
loudly as Caleb hustled him out of the kitchen. “There's still
more...”
    “No, there isn't any
more cooking to be done,” Caleb said, folding his arms and
planting himself in front of the kitchen door to bar Ali's way.
“You're not going back into the kitchen. You're joining the
party. Now, put away your apron, and grab a plate.”
    “But...”
    “You've done enough for
tonight. You've cooked so much delicious, wonderful food for us.
Now, join the party. Eat, drink, relax.” Caleb forcefully
steered Ali, Nurin and Jennifer towards the center of the restaurant
where the Black Bears had pushed all the tables together to form an
enormous, sprawling table that was