Page 5 of Bear for the Holidays

“But I’ve known your parents for three years now, and as long as I don’t threaten anyone they like or cast aspersions on your dad’s croissants, I’m not too worried. I wasn’t feeling crowded or nervous or anything like that. Just, um, just the opposite, really.”

Nik watched her eyes flicker down his throat and then back up to his face as if she was determined to be good.

“Can you tell me more about that?”

His true mate narrowed her eyes briefly as if he had challenged her somehow, and she squared her shoulders, giving him a cocky grin.

“You know? The minute I saw you, I thought you looked like the best cupcake in the display.”

Nik stared. He was certain that it was the best compliment he had ever received. He couldn’t stop a silly grin from crossing his face.

“Thank you,” he said softly, and he held his breath as his true mate raised her hand, her eyes dazzled.

He sat perfectly still as she gazed at his face searchingly, her hand coming up to trace the gentlest fingers down his cheek. He let out a slow breath when the tip of her forefinger touched the corner of his mouth.

“God, your face,” she whispered.

“Yeah?”

“It’s great. It’s just–and I want to–”

“What?”

He wanted very much to hear what she said next, but his true mate jumped, her dreamy expression chased away by a look of startled confusion.

“Oh. Oh, okay, I need to go–”

Nik stared as she jumped to her feet, shaking her head.

“It was great to meet you, call your mom, figure out how to get your rear down off the mountain, your mom was really upset, okay, I should probably hit the road, bye!”

“I come to dinner every two weeks,” he said in confusion, but she was already out the door and on the porch.

Our mate isveryfast,his bear said with satisfaction, but he couldn’t share its pleasure because he was racing after her.

He didn’t think about his pursuit, and it didn’t occur to him that she was running away. Instead, all he knew was that his mate looked as if she was upset, and he couldn’t take that. He had to fix it. He had to take care of her.

He hit the porch right on her heels, and then they both froze, gazing out at the swirling storm and the soft snow that was already piling up on the ground.

CHAPTER THREE

∞∞∞

“Oh,” Deanna said. “Um. I thought it wasn’t going to snow until tomorrow.”

“No,” the Shevchenkos’ son said. “That storm was coming in fast. Big one.”

“Right. Okay. Should have gotten those chains on my wheels yesterday like Pearl wanted me to.”

“Pearl Tran?”

She blinked. “You know Pearl? Short round Vietnamese chick, does animal rescue, married to a wolf shifter cowboy?”

He stared at her, and she thought again,Wow.

She’d taken some writing classes in college. She’d never been amazing at it, but it had been fun, and suddenly meeting Shevchenko Junior made her want to break out all the old adjectives again. He was big in just about every direction, towering over her and broad through the shoulders and thighs. He was unselfconscious about his lack of a shirt; she guessed he’d forgotten he wasn’t wearing one, and that gave her a good view of his chest, the dark hair there and the muscles underneath it, generously softened in a way that made her itch to press against him. There was a shadow of stubble on his hard jaw, and his hair, fresh from the shower, stuck out in all directions like the branches of a wild bramble. It was his eyes that made her want to wax poetic, though, large and black and liquid, and all right, maybe it was a bit too dramatic, but honestly, this guy.

“You know about wolf shifters too?”

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