Bear Naked Read online

  So of course, that wasn’t where Ryan had planned to take her, because Ryan rarely did what she expected. She should have known.

  Hell. She should have worn sneakers.

  “The park?” Glory shivered, glad she’d chosen to dress in her good black jeans and not the teeny skirt she’d originally intended. It was cold out, the sky that bright, pale blue that you only saw at the tail end of winter.

  Ryan glanced down at her, amused. “You want to run into my family?”

  Glory winced. The Bunsun-Williams clan was loud, boisterous and very much a part of Ryan’s life. She’d watched Tabby and Cyn struggle with the overwhelming family. None of the girls were used to having that kind of loving dynamic in their lives, and the adjustment was an ongoing process that sometimes left them exhausted. The Bunsun-Williamses had “accidentally” intruded on more than one of Julian and Cyn’s dates in the past. So perhaps having a picnic wasn’t such a bad idea after all. “Good point.”

  “Just so you know, I can’t cook.” Ryan grinned. “I can’t boil water without setting something on fire, so unless you can cook we’ll be eating a hell of a lot of takeout.”

  Glory took the hand he offered when her heeled boots sunk into the grass. Spring was definitely coming if the ground had started to thaw enough for that. “You think so, huh?” He was assuming an awful lot if he thought she was going to cook for him.

  He chuckled. “Ask Bunny about the time I tried to barbecue. He still screams like a little girl when I mention pork chops.”

  She helped him set up the blanket on the ground. “I thought barbecue was bred into the bone with guys, like football and setting farts on fire.”

  He stared at her for a moment. “Farts on fire?”

  She shrugged. She’d seen more than one butt burn when her brother was younger.

  “Yeah. Not this guy.” He settled her on the blanket, taking a seat next to her. “I wasn’t kidding when I said I set water on fire.” He opened the basket and pulled out a bottle of wine. “My cousins played hockey with the leftovers.”

  She sputtered a laugh and began helping him unpack their dinner. The smell of Chinese food filled the air. She opened one of the boxes as he took the other. “Mm, General Tso’s chicken. How’d you know that’s my favorite?”

  “A certain little Wolf told me.” He handed her some chopsticks, using his own pair to dig out what smelled like Kung Pao chicken. “Dig in.”

  She did, moaning as the spicy-sweet flavor exploded on her tongue. “’S good.”

  He poured two glasses of wine, handing her one. “I want something from you.” He laughed when she glared at him. “That too, but, no. I want you to ask me anything.”

  She blinked, confused. “Anything?”

  He nodded, licking sauce off the end of his chopstick. “We’ve danced around each other quite a bit, but…” He sighed. “We haven’t tried to get to know each other, not the way mates should.”

  Glory grimaced. Most of that was her fault. He’d been trying so hard to get close to her, even leaving her those presents, but she couldn’t help the way she reacted to Ryan. The man scared the piss out of her. No one she’d ever met had ever held the power to hurt her quite so badly, but Ryan Williams could without even trying. Already she couldn’t imagine him not bopping into the shop, smiling and chasing her around her piercing station.

  What would she do if he left?

  “No. Don’t feel bad.” He put his hand on hers, his blue eyes going brown for an instant as his Bear peeked out at her. “Don’t feel bad. I should have known why you kept pushing me away.”

  “Oh really? Like I go around telling people I have abandonment issues.” Glory rolled her eyes.

  He used his chopsticks to pick up a bit of General Tso’s and held it to her lips. “I still should have known.”

  “I hate to tell you this, but you aren’t Super Bear.” She laughed. “Hell, even Super Bear didn’t know, okay?”

  “Then I want to know. Tell me everything.”

  Glory sighed. “Wonderful first date topic. You really know how to show a girl a good time.”

  He froze, his expression stricken before it closed off. “You’re right. We should keep things light—”

  She covered his lips with her finger. “Damn it. Don’t look like that.” She pouted at him. “How long have we known each other?”

  “Close to a year.”

  From the wary way he answered she was willing to bet he knew down to the day, but didn’t want to seem like a stalker. Which he totally was. “You said you wanted me to ask you anything, but the truth is you want the same.” He nodded, still wary. “Then do it. Ask. I’ll tell you if you go too far.”

  “You mean it?”

  “Have I ever said something I didn’t mean?”

  “I refuse to answer that on the grounds that I may be incinerated.” He popped a bite of General Tso’s in her mouth when she opened it to reply. “All right. Back and forth?”

  She tilted her head. “You mean, I ask you something, then you ask me?”

  “One for one, with the caveat that we can say no with no hard feelings.”

  She thought about that for a moment, but she couldn’t see a downside. “That’s fair.”

  He held out his hand. “It’s a deal, then.” She smiled and took his hand, ready to shake, but instead he tugged her forward and planted a soft kiss on her mouth. “Go ahead, sweetheart. Ask me something.”

  She licked her lips, the spice from his dinner mingling with the sweetness of hers. “Um.” Her brain had completely blanked out at the touch of his lips.

  He gave her that smug, knowing smile that made her want to beat him with a sledgehammer…or ride him like a pony. She hadn’t decided yet. “What’s wrong? Bear got your tongue?”

  The sledgehammer was winning. “What’s it like having to call Alex boss? You know—” she leaned in closer and ran her finger down his arm, “—having to do every little thing he tells you to.”

  “Do I want to know what’s going through your head, or should I just assume it’s dirty and try not to picture it?” He shuddered when she wagged her brows. “Ugh. Really?” He grimaced. “I’d rather…” His gaze went dreamy. “Oh. Cyn is your boss. Can I picture—”

  She hit him. Hard.

  “All righty then.” Ryan rubbed his chest absently, ignoring Glory as she shook the pain out of her hand. His chest was a lot harder than she’d thought. “First off, I don’t call Bunny boss. I call his dad boss, remember? Bunny doesn’t own the business. Besides, odds are good it will be Eric who becomes the owner of Bunsun Exteriors. Bunny wants to run the East Coast operations, but our home base is still in Oregon.” He picked up her sore hand and kissed it.

  “But didn’t Alex say they might be moving it here?”

  Ryan nodded. “Yeah, but I don’t know if the whole business will, or just the family.”

  “I can’t see one going without the other.” She took another bite of food.

  “True. Maybe they will move out here, but either way Alex and I will be staying here, where you and Cyn are.” He smiled. “My turn. Tell me about your family.”

  “I have two sisters and a brother. Hope disappeared when I was sixteen. Temperance is my older brother—”

  “Temperance? Poor bastard. Who names their son that?”

  “My asshole dad, who wanted us all named after virtues. Faith is my younger sister. She should be about Heather’s age.”

  “Speaking of which, Heather is working out, right? She’s been really happy coming into the shop.”

  Glory grinned. “That kid is going to own her own shop someday. She’s really good, Ryan, and she’s scary-smart. I’m glad Cyn offered her a job.”

  “Me too, no matter what Eric says. I’ve never seen her so happy before, and she’s coming out of her shell a little more every day.” He kissed her hand again. “Thank you for that.”

  She blushed. “I haven’t done anything.”

  “You’ve done more than you kn
ow.” He picked up his carton and began eating again. “Your turn.”

  She bit her lip and asked the one thing that she’d always wondered about. “Why me?”

  “Besides the fact that your scent fills my head, your voice sends shivers down my spine and your smile makes the sun shine?”

  “I…guess.” Oh, he was good.

  Ryan kissed her again. “I like you, more than you know. You’re funny, brave, smart and beautiful and you’re not afraid to fight for your loved ones. You’re not perfect—” for a second she almost felt insulted, “—but I like your quirks just as much as your strengths.”

  “Fine.” She bit her lip, unbearably touched. “You get a second date.”

  Ryan just smiled and fed her another bite of food.

  “Oh, I’ve been meaning to thank you.”

  “For what?” Ryan was watching her, his blue eyes blending with the brown of his Bear.

  “The presents.”

  Ryan’s stillness frightened her, but his question terrified her. “What presents?”

  Glory took a deep breath. “Shit. You didn’t leave me champagne and roses this morning, did you?”

  “No.” And his blue eyes were now completely brown, fangs peeking out from under his lip. “I didn’t.”

  “Then who did?” Because now she was creeped the hell out. Someone had been watching her closely enough to figure out what her favorite things were without her knowing about it.

  Worse, her shifter boyfriend, who was constantly around her apartment, hadn’t noticed.

  Chapter Four

  Ryan opened the front door of his apartment the next morning and stopped dead in his tracks. “Shit.”

  Bunny held up a sack of donuts. “Good morning, Ryan.”

  No one should look that fucking cheerful that early in the morning. Ryan wanted to maul him just for the grin.

  Julian breezed past him holding a huge box of coffee. “Good morning, lover boy.”

  Ryan whimpered. Not him, too. Julian might live only because he had the coffee.

  “So.” Bunny’s grin got impossibly wider. “How’d it go?”

  “Yeah, did you express your undying love?” Julian put his hand to his chest and fluttered his lashes.

  There was not enough coffee in the world. “Hell. You’re going to make me talk about my feelings, aren’t you?”

  Bunny started setting out the donuts while Julian poured three cups of coffee. “Yup. We might even curl our hair and wax our legs.”

  Ryan whimpered and shut the door. “Can’t I just go to work?”

  “Nope.” Bunny handed him a jelly-filled donut. “Spill.”

  “Yeah, did you mate her?” Julian’s wicked expression would have looked more adult if he didn’t have a ring of powdered sugar around his mouth.

  Nothing says “I’m sexy” like appearing as if you’ve just blown the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man. “No.” He’d walked her to her door like a gentleman, refusing to give in to the howling of his Bear. He’d sat outside her apartment building, guarding her until the wee hours of the morning. He hadn’t scented anything strange around her apartment, but that didn’t mean whoever had left those presents wasn’t around. “But she told me I’m getting a second date.”

  “Huh. For Glory that’s practically a proposal of marriage.” Julian fixed his coffee, adding enough sugar to send a six-year-old into orbit. “So things went well?”

  Ryan took his cup and his donut and sat his ass on the sofa. If the two wanted to discuss his love life he was going to be comfortable, damn it. “Sort of.” When the two shot him concerned glances he told them about the gifts someone had been leaving his mate. “We think someone’s been watching her for a while now. They know her tastes, and I’m willing to bet that they know now that she’s living alone.”

  “Shit.” Bunny clapped Ryan’s shoulder. “You need us to guard her?”

  Julian shrugged, his expression unhappy. “I’ve got some free time.”

  Ryan winced in sympathy. Julian hadn’t found a new job since Dr. Howard’s practice had shut down. The man was a registered nurse, but his gift as a Kermode prevented him from working in the hospital. The other doctors in town weren’t hiring at the moment, which meant Julian was SOL in Halle. He was even thinking of taking work outside Halle, just so his work visa wouldn’t get revoked. If that happened, he risked deportation back to Canada. Hell, Ryan was about to suggest he get a job at the local college campus. It would be something, at least. “Thanks, and yeah. Any help you can give would be good.”

  Bunny squeezed his shoulder before letting go. “As far as the date went, did you round any bases?”

  Ryan stared at Bunny. “Really?”

  “What?” That innocent look on Bunny’s face was as out of place as whiskers on a rock. “When are you going to claim her?”

  “I thought I’d get to second base first.” Ryan grinned at his cousin as Bunny settled on the sofa next to him.

  “Good. Tabby wants this settled. She says Glory’s panic attack scared her, and when Tabby is frightened I’m one unhappy Bunny.” Bunny growled. “And if Glory has a stalker, Tabby is going to be very unhappy.”

  “I swear, our mates are trouble magnets.” Julian sipped his coffee with an unhappy sigh.

  “It could be worse.”

  “How?”

  “They could be Rangers fans.” When the other two stared at him blankly, he changed the subject. “We’re going to try and find out what happened to Hope.”

  Julian settled on the overstuffed recliner Ryan loved napping in. “I can contact Gabe, see if he’s willing to help us look into her disappearance. We should tell him about the stuff someone’s been leaving for Glory as well.”

  “You think they’re connected?” Bunny scowled.

  “We just decided to look into Hope’s disappearance. Glory says the presents have been showing up for a few weeks now, and from the looks of things the asshole’s been watching her, learning what she likes.”

  Both men cursed, but Julian summed up his feelings perfectly. “We need to find this guy and rip his head off. I’m tired of our mates being in danger.”

  “It could truly be a secret admirer, someone who simply wants to make an impression.”

  Bunny could be right, but Ryan wasn’t so sure. “We can ask the girls if anything odd has gone on around the shop, but we all know the answer to that one.”

  All three men grimaced. Sometimes it seemed like nothing normal ever happened around their girls.

  Ryan sighed. “We should talk to Emma and Max Cannon. Since Glory and Hope were human when she disappeared, we might need their approval to borrow Gabe for the investigation.”

  Bunny shook his head. “I don’t think so, because they were human. This would fall under Gabe’s job as sheriff of Halle, not as a Hunter or even the Second. There shouldn’t be any conflict, so I’d go straight to him with this.”

  “I agree.” Julian leaned forward, impatiently brushing a lock of his waist-length black hair behind his ear. “This isn’t shifter business, but human. So his human authority would be ascendant. Besides, Max declared all three girls under his protection. He’d probably give his permission anyway, so the point is moot.”

  Ryan had to admit they were probably right. “Then I’ll call him and ask him to meet us at Cynful. Glory can talk to him, explain what happened all those years ago.”

  “And Gabe might even have the original missing person’s report on file, since she disappeared here in Halle.” Julian grinned. “Cyn will be willing to give you any help you need.”

  “Tabby too, though I’ve already told her to take it easy. I don’t want her risking the baby.”

  “Thanks, guys. I don’t think they’ll be in any danger, but whatever we find, Glory will need her friends and family around her.”

  Julian pulled out his cell phone. “Want me to call Gabe and have him meet us there?”

  “Not a bad idea. I’ll call Glory and let her know what’s up.” Ryan pulled out
his own cell phone and punched in the number for Cynful.

  “Good morning, Cynful Tattoos, Cyn speaking. How may I help… Oh. It’s you.”

  “And good morning to you too, sunshine.”

  Cyn grunted.

  “Are we still decaffeinated?”

  She grunted again.

  “Julian’s here with coffee.”

  “I hate you so much right now. Tabby vomits if she even smells coffee.” Cyn whimpered. “I’m dying here.”

  Ryan didn’t laugh. “Listen, the guys and I are heading over with Gabe.”

  “Why? What’s wrong?”

  That overprotective instinct of Cyn’s had kicked into high gear. She suddenly sounded wide awake and vaguely growly, her Bear ready to defend her friends.

  “It’s okay. I promised Glory we’d look into Hope’s disappearance, so we thought we’d meet with Gabe at Cynful where Glory feels most comfortable.”

  “Oh.” Cyn sighed, the sound relieved. “Good idea. Come on over, and bring herbal tea.”

  Ryan started to laugh. “Can you sound any more disgusted?”

  “Hate. You.” And Cyn hung up before he could answer, not that he could. He was laughing too hard.

  Julian was clipping his phone back to his belt when Ryan hung up. “Gabe says he’ll be there in an hour.”

  Ryan stood, putting a lid on his coffee. Tabby might not be able to stand the smell, but Ryan wasn’t giving up his early morning love. “Your mate wants to kill us for our caffeine.”

  Julian sighed, but it was anything but sad. “Yeah. She’s mean like that.”

  Bunny shrugged on his jacket and grabbed his coffee. “C’mon. I’ll need you both to suck some breath mints before we go in the shop.”

  Julian’s expression turned instantly concerned. “It’s that bad?” When Bunny nodded glumly, Julian frowned. “Do you want me to check her out?”

  As Bears, each of them had the power to heal, both themselves and others. But where Bunny and Ryan could only heal minor wounds, aches and illnesses, Julian, as a Spirit Bear, had powers neither of them could truly comprehend. He could take someone on the brink of death and drag them back to life, but the cost to him was horrific. He’d nearly died twice, once when saving Jamie Howard when Jamie’s mate was killed, and again when saving Cyn after she’d been shot by Tabby’s ex-Alpha. If anyone could help Tabby with her morning sickness and her aversion to coffee, it would be him.