Bared for Her Bear (2 page)

concocting something.

“Listen, you’re here, it’s your birthday, and we were just talking about finding a kick-ass

male.” She pointed over to where Ary knew the bears to be. “What better way to celebrate, and send a

big ol’ ‘fuck you’ to the jackass, than to hook up with one of those big boys?” February was shaking

her head before Melissa even finished talking.

“No.” She looked over at Candace for a little moral support, but it seemed their timid and quiet

little strawberry blonde haired friend was getting cozy with the coyote.

“Give me one good reason why not, Ary.” Melissa threw back her shot and wheezed.
Good.

Serves her right.

“I can rattle off three.”

Melissa leaned back, crossed her arms over her chest, and stared at her, clearly waiting for her

to name them.

“First of all, they have slept with half the town.”

“So? That just means they can fuck good and hard, and believe me, I’ve heard the filthy and

ridiculously arousing rumors, but we both know they probably aren’t rumors at all.” Melissa wagged

her eyebrows. Yeah, they all had heard the rumors, but that wasn’t the point.

“Secondly, I am so not even in the same league as them.”

A dark mask covered Melissa’s face. “You cut that shit out right now and stop being a bitch.

You know damn well you’re hot as fuck.”

“It isn’t even about that, Melissa. I have fine self-confidence.” And she did, but February knew

when men were out of her league. Besides, she knew damn well she couldn’t handle even one of them.

They were just too big, too muscular, and looked like they would do some serious damage to her

vagina, but in a seriously good way. “I don’t really need a one-night stand, and you and I know that is

what it would be.” Not that she had never had one before, but that had been so long ago and not really

something she wanted to try again. She was a grown-ass woman now. In reality she wanted something

stable and meaningful now that she was older. Looking over her shoulder and training her eyes on

Charlie, the oldest Wylde brother, she felt her panties become impossibly wet. How desperate and

pathetic was she that just looking at all that tanned, hard, bulging, and lick-able flesh encased in a

plain white tee and faded denims could have her so needy?

“Girl, you can’t lie and say you don’t want that, especially when I can smell how hot they

make you.” Ary felt her face flame with heat at Melissa’s words. She turned back around quickly and

chugged the rest of her drink. Already she was feeling the effects of the alcohol zipping through her

bloodstream. It was a welcome feeling and one she didn’t want to have end just yet despite her earlier

disapproval of more drinks.

“Can I get another?” She held her glass up their waiter, who was still flirting with Candace.

“Yo.” The coyote turned and offered her an apologetic smile. “Can I get something stronger, please?”

“Sure thing.” He grabbed her empty glass, asked Candace and Melissa if they wanted anything

else, and went back to the bar.

“Looks like someone is getting laid tonight.” Melissa slapped Candace on the back in a

congratulatory manner. If Ary wasn’t already sexually frustrated, annoyed with herself and Melissa,

she would have joined in on the friendly banter. As it was she was uncomfortably aroused and looking

to get drunk, although mixing booze when she was turned-on might not have been the best idea. The

coyote waiter, named Chad, came back with three shots of Crown.

“When I said something harder I don’t know if I meant straight up whiskey.” Ary picked up a

glass. She didn’t need to bring it to her nose to smell how potent it was.

“These are courtesy of the gentlemen at the bar.” A scowl was on Chad’s face as he set

Candace’s shot in front of her. The three of them turned around to see all three Wylde brothers

looking at them.

The men watched them with the same stoic expressions. Their appearances were similar, but

they each had their own subtle differences. Ary, as well as pretty much every resident in Sweet Water,

knew about the bears. Bram, the youngest of the Wylde brothers at thirty-three, had a faux hawk going

on with his black hair. His skin was tanned, just like the other two, from working out in the sun, and

his light blue eyes added to the striking combination. Ford, the middle Wylde brother, was thirty-five.

He had the same striking blue eyes like Bram and dark brown hair that was shaved close to his head.

The oldest brother, and the one who was staring directly at February, was Charlie. At forty he wore his

age damn well. He had the lightest coloring of hair, and the dirty blond strands were a haphazard mess

around his head. They were all built the same: at least six foot three inches of powerful muscle. She

knew bear shifters were one of the biggest around, in
all
aspects, but having them this close to her

made her feel wholly feminine. All she could think about was why Charlie seemed interested in her

when there was a swarm of half-naked females practically in his lap and vying for his attention.

“Holy fucking shit.”

Ary snapped her attention back to Melissa. Her friend stared at the men with wide eyes before

schooling her features and popping her breasts out.

“Ary, you
need
to get with Charlie, like yesterday. That boy is eye-fucking you like crazy. And

I’ll tell you what.” She fluffed her hair out and stood. “I call dibs on Bram.”

“Melissa, don’t push her.” Candace said, but only half-assed because her attention was

surprisingly not on the Wylde brothers, but instead on Chad. Melissa scoffed and ignored Candace.

She started making her way past the table, and Ary looked at Candace. She knew she shared the same

stunned expression as her friend. When Melissa walked by her she reached out and grabbed her arm,

stopping Melissa. The wolf looked down at her with one eyebrow cocked in question. “What?”

“You can’t be serious.”

Melissa cocked her other perfectly plucked eyebrow, so now both were dark arches.

“What do you plan on doing?”

“Uh, go over there and thank them for the drinks, which I might add is the polite thing to do.”

Instantly February felt like a huge bitch. “Then I’m going to invite Bram back to my place.” She

wagged her brows, and February rolled her eyes.

“Just sit back down, Melissa.” Candace spoke up. “Those bears are far more animal than man,

and too much for even you to handle.” For a moment no one said anything and the steady beat of

music surrounded them, but then Melissa started laughing.

“You guys are such wimps. I’m getting me some tonight, and it’s going to be with a Wylde

bear.” She pulled out of Ary’s grasp and sauntered over to Bram. February felt her face heat at the

blatant sexuality that poured from Melissa. She was used to this behavior from her friend, but now she

was sucking her into her craziness. There was no denying she was attracted to Charlie Wylde, but this

certainly wasn’t the way she wanted to go about it.

Turning back around and grabbing her shot, she downed it and let the burn travel straight down

her throat and to her stomach. She was half-way to the point of being drunk already, but it wasn’t

nearly enough, not when she knew Melissa had some of the biggest balls around and had something up

her sleeve concerning the bears.

Melissa stayed by the bar for a good ten minutes, and as much as Ary didn’t want to check to

see what she was doing she found herself doing exactly that. In that short amount of time she managed

to throw back another two shots, accompanied by the worried looks cast her way from Candace.

“It’s my birthday,” was all she said and tossed back one more. She would need to be good and

trashed tonight, especially when Melissa brought over the bears, which Ary knew was bound to happen

soon.

“I didn’t say anything.” Candace looked over her shoulder again at Melissa, but Ary didn’t

miss the way her eyes strayed to the coyote waiter. The silent flirting between the two was cute, but

maybe that was just because her previous buzz had turned into full-blown intoxicated giddiness.

“Just go over there.” Ary smiled widely, feeling the pleasure of her alcohol induced happiness.

Candace cast an unsure expression, and Ary waved her off. “I’ll be fine. Besides, Melissa will no

doubt be back soon, and you don’t need to be subjected to her antics.” No doubt their friend would be

in she-wolf stalking mode. Candace mouthed “thank you” and scurried off. Someone should at least be

excited about picking up a guy, not counting Melissa since she was
always
excited about meeting a

guy. Hell, Melissa had enough of that for the whole damn bar. As Ary sat there and let the alcohol do

its magic she felt her worries, unease, and overall uncomfortable feeling that surrounded her wash

away. Her eyes strayed to the dance floor, and she watched the crush of bodies move sexually and

hypnotically against each other.

Shifty’s was a shifter owned bar, but it didn’t discriminate against humans. All beings were

welcome to enjoy the wild, animal-like fun that could be had. Most of the time humans didn’t really

come to Shifty’s, well, not if they actually knew what type of bar it was. There was always the

occasional human who passed through their small town and stopped for a drink, but the locals tended

to stay away. Rightly so, too. Shifters tended to let their animals out more when alcohol and raw

sexuality were involved, and that combination was always going down at an animal bar. The hair on

the back of Ary’s neck stood up, and she knew she was being watched. She pushed the long fall of her

blonde hair over her shoulder but refused to look at Charlie. She still couldn’t grasp why a man like

that wanted an overweight ocelot shifter like her. Maybe Frank did do a number on her and she had

buried it so deep she thought she was fine. How many times had she looked in the mirror and

wondered what any man saw in her? How many times had she criticized her flat blonde hair, dull blue

eyes, and overall chunkiness? Had Frank’s hurtful words really made her believe that she was less

than what she actually was? Sitting up straighter she realized the truth. Why should she let herself feel

like she wasn’t worth another man’s time? Glancing at Candace she was glad her friend was putting

herself out there. She was the quietest one of their trio, and if she could go after what she wanted, why

couldn’t Ary? Looking over her shoulder she saw Charlie still watching her. He brought his beer bottle

to his lips and took a long drink while never breaking eye contact. His position was relaxed as he

leaned against the bar with one arm resting on the counter. Melissa was laying it on thick with Bram,

and Ford was making out with some barfly between them. Could she actually go after one of the

Wylde brothers?

And why not? Do it, girl. Show Frank and yourself that you
are
something special and

desirable.

Determination settled inside of her, and she stood. Was she really going to have a one-night

stand after she said she never would again? She stared at Charlie, and he cocked one dark brow. God,

he was so freaking gorgeous that her inner question was already answered as she made her way toward

him. He looked unaffected by her approach, but then again maybe he knew this would be the outcome?

He certainly had the arrogance and assurance to think that way. The music was loud and angry

sounding, and it seemed she got more than one nasty glare from the female population the closer she

got to Charlie. He hadn’t moved from his spot, and just continued to drink his beer and watch her.

When she was just a few feet from him she inhaled deeply. The act caused her to get a concentrated

scent of his cologne, and natural scent. It was a mixture of something rugged and wild, spicy and

woodsy. To be honest it had to be the most arousing aroma she had ever come in contact with, or

maybe that was just her hormones talking. Melissa’s seductive giggling told Ary that her friend was

on the fast-track to getting exactly what she wanted, but she doubted she had to try very hard. Melissa

was gorgeous and svelte, and by the look Bram had given her there was no doubt the bear wanted to

roll around in the sheets with a wolf.

February should say something, she knew this, but being so close to a man like Charlie Wylde

had her tongue in knots. Her heart was a frantic, pounding mess, and her whole body felt like it was on

fire. Could he see her nipples through her too thin top? They felt hard enough to cut glass with. Could

he smell her arousal? She was certainly wet enough that the moisture pooled in her panties and the

tingling in her clit made her think of his big, hard … no, she wouldn’t go there, not when she felt as

though she’d combust as it was. With slow, methodical movements he set the bottle down and took a