“Now listen up, you Navy-loving son of a bitch! If my friend wants that bear, she’s gonna get that bear. And neither hell nor you nor some big-haired, twenty-hour-sleeping king of the idiots is gonna stop me from making sure she gets that bear!”

“Jealousy over some big, dumb bear flew out the window as he stared at Ronnie. “You…you were banned from Norway? The country?”

“Smith shrugged and came over to Cella and Crush. Another shifter, a black bear, waited to lead them out, the security cameras conveniently and temporarily turned off.“What did you really do to him?” Cella had to ask her.“Nothin’.”“Smith,” she said, stopping by the bear. “The man shit, pissed, and vomited after spending less than thirty minutes with you. There has to be a reason.”“Got me. All I did was stare at him until he told me something I could use.”The bear looked Smith over. “Did you stare at him with those eyes of yours?”“I have my daddy’s eyes.”“Annnnd, we now have our answer,” Cella announced before they made their way out of the maximum security prison and headed home.”

“And wow…was that a lot of perfection to look at. Seven feet and three hundred and fifty pounds of perfection. While most guys—most guys being her brother, cousins, and uncles—would be lapping this up—pocketing numbers, getting girls to strip, and playing “who can get my kilt to rise”—Lock looked more like a bear cub cornered by hungry grizzly males. But what exactly did he expect in that outfit? She didn’t want to imply he was asking for it but…he kind of was!”

“Dee-Ann came back in the hallway and both men stopped and stared at her. “Just came back to get some water out of the fridge.” When neither man said anything to her, she asked, “Somethin’ wrong?” Ric stepped forward. “How many children do you want?” Lock grabbed Ric by his hair and yanked him back, slamming him into the front door. “Ow!”

“Arms crossed over that massive chest, the lion looked down his nose at Smitty as only a cat could. “What else have you taught my son? How to chase his tail? Lick his ass?”“Nah, I stuck with the cat basics. Park lazy ass under tree, sleep twenty hours, eat all the food after the females do all the hunting, take a few minutes to roar, then sleep another twenty hours.”

“Reaching out, Lock snagged Blayne by the forearm and pulled her back. “When this is over, she still better love me.” “Don’t worry about anything,” Blayne promised. She leaped up and kissed his cheek. “You’re the bestest bear ever.” “Yeah, but I better not be the loneliest,” he called after her.”