~

 

If ever there were words that Rayner had never thought she’d hear, never wanted to hear in her lifetime, then they were it. He’d just about rang her damn bell.

Your mate – my frigging mate – well, that just had to be as crazy bear as it got.

Is he kidding me?

I’m not a shifter.

I’m not a damn mate.

I’m human.

And freaking out!

I’m not some bar hopping – bed hopping – bear bait, bunny girl that goes to shifter bars and chases men like him.

I don’t flaunt my goodies just to get a man’s attention – well, only so I can blindside them and knock their damn teeth down the back of their throat, but that’s different.

That’s for work!

He’s got fangs and claws … and fur!

Fur!

A big furry bear butt like the one running amuck outside.

I didn’t sign up for this shit.

I’m here to get the money that crazy bear owes Bute – ah, to hell with Bute – to hell with the money.

I’m outta here.

“You need to get off me before this gets real ugly, real fast,” she ground out.

Hell, Rayner didn’t know if she could take the man down, but she’d do what she always did when faced with a big guy that was twice her size. Improvise.

“I’m gonna let you go, but you’ve got to…” Dane started, but she wasn’t interested.

“I don’t gotta do anything.” She tried to pull away, and Dane had a choice to make.

If she kept doing what she was doing, then one of two things was going to happen. She was going to hurt herself, or he was going to go damn insane from the glorious feel of her backside as it pressed and rubbed against his damn hard cock.

Dane reluctantly let her go.

Everything inside of him was screaming to keep her right where she was, keep her in his arms, pressed against his length, but she was his mate, and that meant that he needed to woo her – anything else would make him an abomination.

He had honor.

He had a code.

He had his balls fisted in his hands a second after she’d turned and brought her knee right up between his inner thighs and hit a very unexpected home run.

 

~

~

~

 

Rayner didn’t feel one moment of regret or guilt in what she’d done. She’d protected herself.

At five foot four she had learned to use whatever means necessary to get herself out of a tight spot, and that was one hell of a tight spot that she’d found herself in.

Mate my ass.

Just a randy shifter looking for a stupid girlie to believe that she was his one true love.

He folded in on himself like a house of cards in a strong wind. His face registered the excruciating pain that tore through him, and his knees buckled as his legs refused to hold him upright a moment longer.

He crumpled down onto his knees with a loud thud, and then he fell forward at her feet as she wrenched her body back away from him like she didn’t want to get any on her boots.

“I appreciate the symbolism of you falling at my feet and all…” she said, turned towards the front door, and wrapped the handle inside her fist. “But I’ve got other bad debts to go and chase down. Bowie is all yours, big guy. Enjoy.”

She wrenched open the door and kicked his feet out of the way so that she could pull it open just far enough to try to slide on through.

It was a tight squeeze.

She was halfway to making her escape when she caught sight of that big bear as it turned back towards her, raised its head on its neck, and roared once more.

“That’s just…” She pushed back inside the cabin.

Rayner slammed the front door closed to the sound of a deep moan that came from the guy rolling back and forth on the hardwood flooring. His forehead was pressed against the wood, and he was groaning in perfect time with his rocking.

Rayner backed away to the furthest wall. She lifted her hand and worried her forehead with her fingernails.

She needed to figure a way out of the mess that Bute had landed her in, and fast. Then kill Bute.

I could go out the window.

Hit the bear with a damn frying pan or something heavy if it comes for me.

Great idea – first I’d probably get stuck with my backside hanging out there for it to sink its damn fangs into – and a frying pan?

Really?

How am I planning to get that close?

“D-o – n-o-t – r-u-n,” Dane pushed out through the white-hot pain, a growl rumbling inside of him.

“Yeah!” She spat out on chuckle of disbelief.

Then she started for the back window. If she stayed, then she’d be trapped inside the cabin with one very miffed off shifter.

If she left, well, there was one very miffed off bear out there to contend with.

But, all in all, she’d rather take her chances with the damn bear than some nutjob claiming to be a mate.

 

~

~

~

 

Rayner was good at most things in life, but being a cat burglar obviously wasn’t one of them. She’d pushed open the window that was well above waist height and fitted with one of those safety features that meant it didn’t open all the way out.

“Just my damn luck,” she grumbled.

She pulled herself up onto the windowsill, and was backing out, squeezing her body through the gap … when the deep tone of another testosterone filled voice greeted her backside.

“That’s not very ladylike, and probably not a position that you want to find yourself in with my brother, Bowie, in bear form right now,” Roland growled.

He’d heard the roar of Bowie’s bear and had run the path to investigate just what it was that his brother found wrong with the world this time – when Dane had used the mental link between the brothers to ask for his help. Dane didn’t sound in a good way.

He was both surprised and amused to find the little human female trying to climb out of Dane’s back window. Surely, she wasn’t the source of Dane being under the weather.

Still, Roland couldn’t say that that the sight that had greeted him was a bad view that he had. He’d have to thank his brother for that one.

Rayner half closed her eyes and groaned inwardly.

How many damn shifters are there?

There really is no way that Bute is paying me enough for this shit.

She half turned back to the cabin and snapped her gaze down at the man. Just as she feared, a replica of the first two in height and frame, and he had those same strong features.

“Is there a conveyor belt where they make you guys?” She ground out, but a moment later, she squealed out with shock as two large hands clamped around her waist and wrenched her backward into the cabin.

“Never run from your mate!” Dane growled out.

Rayner had to crane her head back on her neck to look up from that broad, muscled chest into his eyes. Gone were the sexy cool blue, replaced by an even sexier jet black that made him look so much more like a predator that she felt the fine hairs rise up all over her body.

“Mate!” Roland growled out in disbelief. Maybe he wouldn’t be thanking his brother for the view of her shapely backside.

Roland wanted to keep his head attached to his neck, and if she was Dane’s mate, then the least said about his view the better.

“I said so, didn’t I?” Dane growled back, annoyed at his brother’s intrusion, even though he knew that he should have been more than grateful for it.

“Now, hold the hell on,” Rayner bit out as she placed her hands on his rock hard pecs and tried her damnedest to push away from him.

Dane’s hands were locked on her hips, and she found that in the grand scheme of things, it probably would have been easier to move the mountain that they were standing on.

“You tried to run from your mate.” Roland shook his head in disbelief. “That’s either a really ballsy move, or a really dumb one.” He grumbled a growl before he disappeared from outside the window and left her escape route open once more.

“I know what you’re thinking,” Dane warned her. “But this time I’m ready for you, and I will take you down with me.” He growled, just a little, just enough to make her think twice.