Bear Naked (Halle Shifters) (32 page)

“So I’d be a Bear like you and Glory.”

“Or a Fox, if one of my cousins changes you, yeah.”

Temp blinked at that, but didn’t say anything about Foxes and Bears. “You said each spirit gave each species gifts. What are they?”

“Bears have the ability to heal, but it drains our energy, makes us tired. Foxes can hide their scent, enabling them to hide from other shifters remarkably well, but when they
want
to be found it can be…difficult.” They’d been lucky that Bunny had stumbled across Heather and her tormentors all those years ago.

Temp snorted. “Man, I need more beer.”

“No.” Temp looked startled at the fierceness of Ryan’s reply. “You want to be sober when you make this decision. Whatever you decide will tie you to the shifter group you choose to belong to. If you pick a Wolf, you
will
need a Pack. Same if you pick a Puma. Bears and Foxes live in family groups, and because I’m mated to your sister you would belong to mine.” Ryan leaned forward.

The wistful expression on Temp’s face disappeared almost as quickly as it came. “I can’t leave Faith behind.”

Ryan had figured as much. “We can change her too, if you like.” Pretty little Faith would make an excellent Fox. The ability to hide in plain sight would soothe her brother’s need to protect her.

“That’s up to her. I won’t take her choices from her. It’s bad enough Hope didn’t get that choice. I won’t do that to Faith.”

“It won’t be up to her if we tell her about all of this.” He held up his hands when Temp rounded on him. “For the safety of your sisters, and all of the shifters in this town and beyond, you’ll need to decide if Faith becomes one of us or not.”

“Shit.” Temp slumped again. “This is…”

“Crazy?”

Temp nodded. “This is a lot of information, Ryan.” Temp blew out a breath. He glanced toward Ryan’s apartment, his expression wistful. “Glory really is all right?”

Ryan nodded. “Exhausted, scared and ready to kill a man who’s already dead, but yeah. She’ll be fine.”

They sat in silence, listening to the sounds of the night. “Ryan?”

“Hmm?”

“I can’t let this happen again.” His expression was tormented. “I failed them both.” His gaze, when he turned it on Ryan, was determined. Ryan knew that look. He’d seen it with Bunny, and in his own mirror. Temp might not have a mate to protect, but his sisters really did mean the world to him. The last of his suspicions about Temperance Walsh fell away. “I need to be able to protect my family.”

Ryan smiled. He’d thought Temp would pick this option. It seemed Glory’s opinion of her brother was spot-on. “I know how you feel.”

“Will it hurt?”

“The changing bite will, since you won’t be getting marked by your mate. A mating bite feels…different.” And that was all he was willing to say to his mate’s big brother. There were just some things a man couldn’t share with his mate’s family.

Temp looked confused. “So it didn’t hurt Glory when you changed her?”

Ryan’s cheeks flushed. No fucking way he was telling her brother that it had been far from pain his mate had felt. “Nope.”

“But Hope, she
was
hurt.”

“Yeah. And not just by the bite.”

“Fucker. I am so glad he’s dead.” Temp sighed. “Ryan?”

“Yeah?”

Temp took a deep, cleansing breath.

Ryan prepared himself for what he knew was coming. Glory, he felt, would approve.

“Bite me.”

Ryan nodded, and silently gave his brother-in-law his wish.

Glory closed the curtain as her brother bit back a scream. Ryan would take care of Temp, just like he took care of her.

She smirked as she made her way to her bed. Their bed.

Okay, maybe not
quite
the way her mate took care of her. And when he crawled into bed with her half an hour later, Glory made sure she showed Ryan that she could take
very
good care of him.

About the Author

Dana Marie Bell wrote her first short story when she was thirteen years old. She attended the High School for Creative and Performing Arts for creative writing. When her parents moved out of the city and placed her in a Catholic high school for her senior year she tried desperately to escape, but the nuns held fast. She’s now a USA Today best-selling author.

Dana lives with her soul mate and husband Dusty, their two maniacal children, an evil ice-cream-stealing cat and a bull terrier that thinks it’s a Pekinese. She also suffers from a rare inflammatory arthritis and can be seen walking with a cane or tooling around in her mobility scooter. Her condition was the inspiration for Belle’s hip injury in Steel Beauty.

You can learn more about Dana at:
www.danamariebell.com
and
danamariebell.blogspot.com
.

Look for these titles by Dana Marie Bell

Now Available:

Halle Pumas

The Wallflower

Sweet Dreams

Cat of a Different Color

Steel Beauty

Only In My Dreams

Halle Shifters

Bear Necessities

Cynful

The Gray Court

Dare to Believe

Noble Blood

Artistic Vision

The Hob

Heart’s Desire

Shadow of the Wolf

Hecate’s Own

Poconos Pack

Finding Forgiveness

Mr. Red Riding Hoode

True Destiny

Very Much Alive

Eye of the Beholder

Howl for Me

Morgan’s Fate

Coming Soon:

Heart’s Desire

The Wizard King

The Gray Court

Siren’s Song

The better to make you mine, my dear…

Mr. Red Riding Hoode

© 2013 Dana Marie Bell

Poconos Pack, Book 2

When it came down to saving his best friend Ben’s relationship, Steven Hoode didn’t hesitate to trade his Florida timeshare for a month at Red Wolf Lodge. Cold weather isn’t his favorite thing, but hot snow bunnies are, so he plans to make the most of his vacation.

Good karma kicks in when he sees a pretty brunette chatting with the lodge owner. All thoughts of nuptials and nookie take a back seat to the heat that flares between them.

When Graciela “Chela” Mendoza catches sight of the gorgeous man shivering in a red-hooded parka, she realizes why he makes her heart beat faster. He’s her mate. The problem? Steven has no idea his friends are Wolves.

Chela plans to break it to him gently, but when he accidently witnesses the whole Pack shifting, things get a bit…hairy. He bolts, locking himself in his cabin and refusing to listen, even to Ben.

Unless she can get him to see that Wolves are people, too, Chela will lose her mate faster than she can say woof.

Warning: This book contains explicit sex, graphic language, a man packing some nice goodies and a she-Wolf all ready to gobble them up.

Enjoy the following excerpt for
Mr. Red Riding Hoode:

“Do you want Ben kissing your neck?”

The way his eyes went wide would have made her laugh again if this weren’t the moment she’d been waiting for. She held her breath, praying with everything in her that Steve chose her.

He stared down at his half-eaten steak, his expression grim. His emotions were all over the place, making her dizzy. But when they finally settled down, when his blue eyes finally met hers again, she nearly sagged in relief. He’d made his decision.

Steven nodded once. “If you’re telling me the truth, then I’d rather you bite me.”

Chela stood. She could barely keep the smile off her face. “You won’t regret this.”

He grimaced. “There’s a lot of questions I still have, but…” He sighed. “Ben has never once hurt me. I have to trust in that, if nothing else.”

That wasn’t exactly what she’d hoped to hear, but she’d take it. She’d work on winning his heart after he’d accepted the bite.

She was patient.

She opened her mouth so he could watch her fangs grow in. She wanted him a part of this, to see everything that was about to happen. Her eyes changed, going over to her wolf’s. Her vision changed as she lost the red-green spectrum. His red shirt now appeared to be deep mustard yellow, but his blue eyes darkened, sharpened. His blond hair appeared lighter, almost white.

He looked ethereal yet strong, a fairy warrior come to life just for her.

“Holy shit. What big teeth you have, Grandma.”

She wasn’t fooled. The sight of her fangs had made him fearful again. “This won’t hurt, I swear.”

“You can say that, but you aren’t the one facing the fangs.”

She tried for humor once more. She shook her head and tsked. “Just because you’re a virgin…”

He glared at her. “I am not.”

She put her hand on her chest and fluttered her lashes. “Oh, it’s
so big
. I… I don’t think it will fit.”

“I hate you right now.”

Except she knew he didn’t. She could feel it, the uneasiness, but there was no hatred. Hatred burned, was acrid against her senses. Even when his fear had been at its highest point she hadn’t felt
that
. “At worst, it might sting a little, like getting a shot.”

“Have I mentioned I hate needles?” He stood, towering over her. “Just…” He sighed, his emotions all over the place again, a jumble of nerves and fear and desire making her head spin. “Let’s get this over with, okay?”

“You’re so romantic.” She tugged on his shirt, pulling him down so she could reach his neck. “I promise I’ll be gentle, you virgin, you.”

His laugh had a bite of hysteria to it, but she didn’t give him time to think. She brushed her lips against his skin, the scent of him overwhelming. She wrapped her arms around his waist, her teeth scraping against his skin. Before he could protest, she sank her fangs into him, her joy nearly overwhelming as she released the mating enzyme.

He was hers, and soon, she would be his.

Whatever the fuck she’d just done to him, she needed to bottle it, because she’d make a fortune. Heat raced through him, his cock turning so hard he was afraid if he moved it might simply snap off from being confined by his jeans.

And not even that image did anything to dampen the desire to rip Graciela’s clothes off and fuck her until she walked funny.

He needed. He’d never needed
anything
the way he did Graciela. He had to make her squirm, make her want as much as he did. If he didn’t get her out of her clothes and on his cock in the next two seconds, he might just explode in a shower of lust-filled goo.

He was tugging at her shirt before her teeth left his skin, desperate to feel her golden skin against his, test the weight of her breasts against his palms.

She licked his neck, right where she’d bitten him, and he nearly dropped to his knees. He shuddered, the feel of her tongue on that mark making him crazy with want.

This was the result of the mating bite? This unwavering need to sink inside her, make her scream his name? The urge to come and come and
come
inside her until they didn’t know where she ended and he began?

Hell. He should have said yes immediately.

He couldn’t wait any longer. He tugged her head back by her ponytail, devouring her mouth with all the savagery of a starving man. Clothes flew off as he pushed and pulled, hauled and yanked until she was naked, barely breaking the hungry kisses long enough to remove her shirt.

She whimpered as he picked her up and carted her off to the bedroom, his hands tight on her firm, naked ass. And it was a fine ass too. Nicely rounded in all the right places. It fit his hands perfectly.

She fit his hands perfectly. Part of him was terrified by that. A small, miniscule part that he promptly stomped on with all his might.

The larger part of him wanted to know if she was a moaner or a screamer. He intended to find out.

She wrapped her legs around his waist, her arms around his neck. She was driving him crazy, her mouth busy on that fucking bite she’d given him, making him nearly drop her as pleasure raced through him.

In record time he had her flat on her back on the bed, her legs over his forearms, her body spread for his viewing pleasure. The only problem was he couldn’t get enough of her mouth, of the way she tasted on his tongue. Pulling away to stare at his prize was just too much. He greedily sipped at her lips, drugging himself on her flavor, embedding it into his very soul.